


The Walls Between Us

by LokiForLife



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Jotunn Loki (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-08-20 08:51:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 54,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20225131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokiForLife/pseuds/LokiForLife
Summary: The borders between the realms are becoming less reliable and Thor is desperate to stop any invasions from happening. Loki is in prison and the Avengers have assembled to prevent attacks. Unfortunately, family troubles and unknown realms cause trouble. This story is mostly based on Thor and Loki. Please read, review, and enjoy.





	1. Weakening Realms

**Author's Note:**

> So, like many Loki fans, I feel that Thor: Ragnarok made Loki seem a bit weak. Thor too. If you don't feel this, you will still love this.  
Anyway, this story is going to be at the start of Thor: The Dark World and create Avengers 2. Loki has been put in prison, defiant as ever. Frigga has been killed by Elves, but they were neutralized by Thor quickly. Then several months later (7-8), Thor realizes something else has been going on between the realms and the Avengers assemble or whatever. Loki has taken Frigga's death very hard.  
This is fanfiction and while they may not be this way now, how I write the characters is how I envision they should be. Characters will be similar to how they were in Avengers.  
Please enjoy. And please review.

Frigga's death had taken its toll on Asgard. The realm had ceased its celebrations for the time being. It was quiet when they walked through the streets and although people still conversed and spent time with each other, their manner was subdued.

Prince Thor had stayed near his father's side through all of it, seeing as the realms were at peace.  
His friends had often tried to get him to join them in their adventures. He had yielded a few times, but he preferred to remain in Asgard.

Today, however, was different. Heimdall had summoned him to the Bifrost. That's where he was headed now, hammer hanging from his hand.

Heimdall stared off the edge, sword gripped between his hands.

"You walk slowly these days, my prince." he said as Thor approached.

Thor laughed quietly at the ground "What words of wisdom do you have planned for me this day?"

"I have none to give. There is trouble elsewhere." Heimdall replied. Thor walked closer to him, face in a concerned frown.

"It seems that there have been numerous break throughs in the realms. Midgard has suffered the worst." Heimdall said, his voice as calm as ever.

"What kind of break throughs?" Thor asked, scowling.

"The Jotuns have found a way onto Midgard. I have seen only a few there and they returned back to Jotunheim quickly." Heimdall replied, yellow eyes reflecting the stars "They are quite restless. Thoughts of invasion have been spoken."

"Where is this entrance they have found?" Thor asked, hand tightening on the hammer "How is this possible?"

"I cannot see it." Heimdall said "It is shielded from my eyes. I recall the time your brother allowed Jotuns into Asgard. I could not see then either."

"Yes, but Loki is in prison. He has no power out here." Thor replied, waving a hand slightly.

"Loki is not behind this." Heimdall said "But like then, my eyes are shielded. Have you spoken to him lately?"

"No." Thor said "Odin spoke of isolation as part of his punishment."

Heimdall raised his chin "Your friends on Midgard. They have gathered, but I do not believe they know what has occurred."

Thor walked toward the edge of the Bifrost, staring down, almost as if he wished he could see "Where are they?"

"The city which the Chitari attacked." Heimdall replied.

"I must tell Odin of this." Thor said, turning.

"Wait. There have been others. I have seen the Chitari in Valaheim." Heimdall replied.

"Chitari? I thought they were all killed on Earth." Thor said with a frown.

Heimdall lifted up the sword and turned to the gold pedestal with a sigh "Many survived that battle. Valaheim has been able to fend off the few that have entered. I only tell you this as a warning."

"Are those the only realms?" Thor asked.

"Those are the ones that I have seen." Heimdall replied "Since I am blind to the portals, I will not know until they are within the realm."

"Where are the entrances they have found?" Odin asked, repeating his son's earlier question as he walked down the steps from his throne. After hearing the news, the king had ordered several guards to search the borders of Asgard for invaders.  
Thor followed him as he walked down the hall "Heimdall cannot see them. I need to return to Earth to prevent any attacks from the Jotuns."

Odin stopped, staff grasped in his hand. He faced away from his son.

"Asgard is at peace." he said, looking up. He almost appeared to be talking to himself "The realms appear to to be safe. You may return to Earth." he turned to Thor "But if Jotunheim invades then you must come back and take more Asgardians with you. I do not want you to attempt to face them alone, no matter the support of Midgard. Lady Sif and the warriors will assist you if necessary."

"Thank you, father." Thor said. Odin had definitely grown older in the past months grieving for the queen. It was surprising that the Allfather had not objected to Thor's wishes. Many times he was not in his right mind.

The king picked up his staff and began walking down the hall towards his quarters. Thor turned back around to return to the Bifrost.


	2. Earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!

"So what is this exactly?" Black Widow asked, looking at a picture that Tony had handed her.

"I don't know." Tony said, holding out his hands and walking towards her "I was hoping you might know. I thought it might have something to do with S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Well, if it does, I don't know anything about it." Black Widow responded "Have you tried contacting Fury?"

"See, I tried, but he's generally too busy to take my calls." Tony said, flicking his glasses around. They were all sitting in the living room of Stark/Avengers tower, looking at a blurry photo. Thor seemed particularly interested.

"Or he doesn't think it's worth his time." Hawkeye muttered, purposely loudly enough to be heard. His eyes flicked up to Tony, who dropped his hands in annoyance.

"You think this is funny, don't you?"

"No. Not funny at all." Hawkeye said with a small smile.

"Where was this taken?" Thor asked, looking at the picture in concern. It contained a blue blur that had the shape of a humanoid figure. It had one arm extended in an obvious strike position. Captain America stood near the window, arms folded as he looked out.

"Funny thing." Tony said, pointing at him "I have no idea.

"Then why do you have it?" Captain America asked. He leaned back on the window and looked at him with a rather contemptful expression.

"You know, I'm thinking about not telling you because that tone was very rude." Tony said, backing off with raised eyebrows.

"Okay." Hawkeye sat up "Let's go, Nat."

"Are you sure this isn't one of your own things?" Black Widow asked, looking up at him.

"Umm...yeah, because one of my 'things' took this picture." Tony said pointing at it again "And was then destroyed."

"Then why don't you know where it was?" Captain America asked, sounding slightly more sharp.

"I sent about twenty of my suits out a few days ago. They were examining some areas around the U.S. Scouting out, you could say, for land that I could purchase." Tony said, fiddling with a pencil "And, uh, I got this picture back a second before I lost all connections with the one that took it. And I mean like ALL connections." he waved his hands "Gone."

Black Widow set down the picture.

"So, what?"

"'So what.'" Tony mimicked "In order to cut all connections, something big has to happen. A short circuit or something." he tapped the picture a few times "How does THIS do that?"

Black Widow glanced at Hawkeye.

"I know how." Thor said, walking forward and picking up the picture "This is a frost giant. It can freeze things just by being near it, let alone attacking."

"What?" Captain America asked, walking over to him.

"They come from the realm Jotunheim." Thor said "Centuries ago, my father defeated them in battle and took away their power. They have not traveled through realms since. Until now."

"So this thing is alien?" Captain America asked, glancing at it.

"It is why I traveled here today." Thor replied "I had hoped they hadn't come in contact with any humans. That appears it may not be the case."

"So if they haven't been able to travel through realms, why are they able to do it now?" Black Widow asked, looking at him.

"They have found...an entrance into your realm." Thor said, hand over his chin "This should'nt have been possible. Heimdall, our watchman, noticed that they had broken through to Earth."

"Where?" Captain America asked.

"Well, I don't know, so I hope he does." Tony said.

Thor shook his head "We don't. I came to find out if any of you did."

"Stark, were any of these out of the United States?" Captain America asked.

"That's a good question." Tony said "Hey Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir." came a robot voice from around them.

"Where were the rest of the suits when the one went dead?" he asked.

"Several of them were in New Jersey, some were in Connecticut, and a few remained here in New York."

"So none were out of the U.S.?" Tony asked, walking over to his transparent computer screens.

"That is correct, sir."

"So there's a safe bet that the one I lost was in the United States." Tony said.

"Which state?" Captain America asked.

"You know, you're getting that tone that I don't like again." Tony replied.

"I don't like that you're not taking this seriously." Captain America said "Or do not remember what happened right ouside this building?"

"Oh you're damn right I do." Tony said, face serious now.

"We have Earth under watch and I will remain here until I have found where they entered." Thor said.

"Where's Banner?" Tony asked, looking around even though he knew he wasn't there "I told him to come, where is that S.O.B.?"

"Where are we supposed to start looking?" Captain America asked Thor.

"Well in New Jersey, uh Conneticut, and New York." Thor replied simply, with a wave of his hand.

"Those are rather big areas." Black Widow said, peering up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"We need to start somewhere." Captain America replied, taking steps toward the elevator "How will we identify where they came in, Thor?"

"We can't." Thor replied "Unless we find it ourselves and go through or they come in themselves for us to see."

"So we have to wait for them to attack before we can do anything?" Black Widow asked.

"We're going to keep watch on Asgard. Heimdall will warn us." Thor said.

"I thought you said he couldn't see them." Captain America asked sharply.

"He can see all activity on Jotunheim." Thor replied, sounding serious "We are not responsible for the actions of other realms."

"We need to tell Fury about this." Black Widow said, standing up.

"It will be on national news soon if they invade again." Captain America said.

"That's why we need to get to Conneticut, New Jersey, and New York to search for them." Thor replied.

"It might be better if we have somewhere else to stay." Captain America said "Somewhere off the charts. We can't stay here, too many people will notice."

"Well, I was going to offer here, but it sounds like you have somewhere else in mind?" Tony said questioningly, holding out a hand to him.

"No." Captain America replied, looking at him in annoyance "I was just saying it might be better to keep low."

"No, offense, but wouldn't it be best if people knew about this?" Black Widow asked.

"Mass panic has never been helpful." Captain America said.

"I mean, the government." Black Widow replied "Fury should probably know about this."

"Didn't we already have this conversation?" Tony asked "Fury doesn't want to answer."

"You." Black Widow said.

"Oh I'd like to see you try to contact him. If he answers you, I'm out." Tony said, hands up "We can't be friends."

"We don't have time to wait for Nick Fury." Thor jumped into the conversation "We need to start securing borders now."

"How do we know this isn't happening...all over the world?" Tony asked. Captain America looked at Thor.

"There is no way to know this." Thor replied "But we need to start somewhere."

"Well if you can all stop arguing, I have a place we can stay at." Hawkeye said, glancing around. As they looked at him, he took a deep breath "It's completely off charts."

"Where?" Captain America asked.


	3. Secrets and Suggestions

"Where are we going?" Tony asked "Because I feel like this is called the the middle of nowhere."

"It is." Black Widow responded, gazing out the window of the moving car.

"Are we even still in the United States?" Tony asked, looking around. He tipped his glasses down.

Hawkeye hadn't spoken much as he drive the car along a dirt road. He had his sunglasses on and one hand on the steering wheel. Thor seemed to be in deep thought as he shifted back and forth with the movement of the car.

"Hey guys I feel like this could be a little dangerous for me." Banner said uneasily "These trees all look nice, it might be a shame to..." he waved his hands "You know."

"Just keep skin color and you'll be fine." Black Widow said back to him. Dr. Banner had shown up as the others were leaving the building. Tony had given him quite the indignant scolding.

"That doesn't seem like something to joke about." Captain America said, looking at Black Widow.

"Hey, he started it, not me." she replied offhandedly.

"Oh look, I see a sign of civilization." Stark said, glancing out the window. He made a small face "Partial...civilization." he looked at Black Widow for a second.

They were driving up to a large white house, that honestly wasn't especially appealing, but it had a calm atmosphere.

"What is this?" Captain America asked as Hawkeye pulled to a stop.

"You'll see." Hawkeye replied, opening the door and slinging his pack over his shoulder.

"I really feel like I could've flown here faster." Tony said with a grunt as he got out of the car.

"Alright is this some sort of secret SHIELD base?" Tony asked, looking up and around the house "Because if it is, they really need a renovation."

"This has nothing to do with SHIELD." Hawkeye replied.

"Oh really?" Tony asked, sounding mockingly interested as he turned to the door. Hawkeye opened it and pushed it inside.

There was a little girl inside who looked up from her coloring book.

"Daddy!" she cried, getting up to run over to him. Hawkeye picked her up with a grunt.

"Hey kiddo. How you doing?" he asked as he hugged her. Tony stared at him with his mouth open.

"Clint?" a voice came from inside the kitchen.

A woman appeared, wiping her hands on a towel. She looked slightly aghast as she looked at the group standing in her living room.

"These must be SHIELD agents of some kind." Tony said, pointing two fingers at them.

"Natasha!" the girl waved at Black Widow, who smiled at her.

"Guys, this is my wife Laura." Hawkeye said, walking over to her and putting a hand on my back.

"Wife?" Tony asked. He looked at the others and asked more quietly "Wife?"

"I had SHIELD keep her completely out of the files." Hawkeye said "To make sure she stayed safe. I didn't want anyone to come looking for her."

Laura was looking at all of them and then at the stairs as two little boys came running down. Captain America watched them, shield moving slightly.

"Well this is new." Tony said. He looked at Thor "Are you married?"

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, what's the problem that you had to bring them all here?" Laura asked, watching the others in the living room. Hawkeye stood beside her, leaning on the counter.

"It might be better if you don't know." he said honestly with a sigh "I'm sorry to bring them all in like this."

"It's okay." Laura said. Then she smiled "We're going to need a few more groceries though."

"Oh, they don't eat food." Hawkeye said. Laura laughed down at the ground.

"And don't be afraid of them." he said, picking up an apple "Thor looks big, but he's a hugger."

"He doesn't look like it." Laura replied "He does look big though." she looked at her husband "Clint, is everything okay?"

"It'll be fine." Hawkeye replied "Just trust us."  
"I do, but." she shrugged and walked over to him with a sigh "Generally when this kind of a group gets together, it's something bad."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright, so apparently, this group needs to have a chat about secrets." Tony said, walking in front of Hawkeye and Captain America, who were sitting on the couch.

"I think secrets are just that. Secrets." Black Widow said, looking up at him.

"Yes, but you knew." Tony said, pointing two fingers at her.

"We've been friends for longer." she replied.

He rolled his eyes.

"Come on guys, We're supposed to be a team. Look, if Barton dies who's is supposed to take care of Laura?"

"I'm the one who has to worry about that, not you." Hawkeye said. He still appeared calm and casual as ever.

Tony let out an annoyed breath and walked over to the front door.

"Look, he has a point." Captain America said, looking down at Hawkeye with his arms folded "I'm not saying I wouldn't have done the same thing though."

There were a few bangs upstairs from where the kids were playing. Everyone glanced up there for a second before Captain America spoke.

"Thor, where do you think we should start?" he asked.

"I need to speak to Heimdall first." Thor replied "But there isn't anything we can do until the Jotuns make a move."

"But we can't just wait for them to attack Earth, you realize that, right?" Banner asked.

"I'm sorry, you missed that part of the conversation when you didn't show up when I called you." Tony said.

"You just expect me to drop everything the second I get a phone call." Banner replied.

"Well, if the world needs saving, we could certainly use a Hulk." Tony said.

"Thor." Captain America said, cutting off the others "Keep going."

"We have to wait for the Jotuns to act before we can identify where they are entering." Thor said, moving his hand definitively. He took in a deep breath "There might be another way though."

"What?" Captain America asked.

"There is someone on Asgard who has experience with secret entrances." Thor said "He might be able to help."

"Then bring him down." Tony replied, walking over with his arms out "What are you waiting for?"

"It might be a bit harder than you think." Thor said, eyes on the ground.

"Why?" Captain America asked with a bit of suspicion in his voice.

"It is...Loki." Thor replied, gaze flicking up to them cautiously. The group fell into a stunned silence for a moment.

"No." Banner said, staring at him "No no no, you didn't just suggest that."

"He has knowledge of the pathways between realms." Thor replied, as if trying to pacify any outburst that should come. 

"And you actually think it would be a good idea to bring him back here?" Captain America asked in astonishment "Why would that help anything right now?"

"Loki has been in prison for many months." Thor said, stepping towards him. He had already thought this over and now it was just coming out as he rehearsed it. But he found it would be much harder to convince them than he thought "He has had contact with no one and has been powerless in there. I will be here to make sure that he does not escape."

"The last time was here, Loki took control of my mind." Hawkeye said, standing up "I'm not in any hurry to repeat that."

"This is the only way to find the entrance so we can stop them before they attack us." Thor said.

"See, you didn't say that." Tony replied, stepping forward "You never said they were going to attack us. Do you know something we don't?"

"I've told you everything I know." Thor said, still sounding patient. Again, they fell silent. For a moment, they shared glances, ones of hate and concern.

"How long would it take him to find it?" Captain America asked finally, making the others look at him.

"I don't know." Thor said "But it will be quicker than if we do it ourselves."

"Steve, are you seriously considering bringing Loki back here?" Black Widow asked him, eyebrows up.

"I don't think that I agree with this." Banner spoke up.

"He can help us." Thor replied seriously.

"And you think he will?" Hawkeye asked "What, did he go through a whole personality change?"

Thor sighed in frustration, making the others back off. But a moment later, Tony spoke.

"I'm game." he said, holding out his arms "I can't speak for anyone else. But I want to know what precautions we will put in place to keep your wannabe ruler brother under wraps."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you are enjoying this! More is definitely to come! :)


	4. Persuasion of the Throne

Thor stepped onto the Bifrost and Heimdall released the sword with a clang.

"You come with a mission." he said, stepping off the pedestal and looking at the Prince of Asgard.

"Where is Odin?" Thor asked, not wanting to go into detail about it.

"He is in his quarters." Heimdall replied "I forewarn you, the King will not release Loki easily."

"I am aware. But he will if it means keeping the nine realms safe." Thor replied, walking past him.

Heimdall seemed like he wanted to say more, but he was reluctant to say anything about the Allfather's state of mind. The Prince spun his hammer and lifted off into the air. Heimdall waited a moment before walking back over to the edge.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you believe Loki has something to do with these trespasses?" Odin asked, gripping his staff. He sounded very calm as he stared out of the balcony. He hadn't turned to look at his son when he walked in earlier.

"No, father, I don't." Thor replied. He let his hammer hit the ground softly "But he would be very helpful on Earth. We may be able to neutralize the threat before anything destructive happens."

"Why do you belief he would be helpful?" Odin asked "Frigga never knew the paths between realms and her magic far exceeded Loki's."

"I don't think they were really that different. Mother often spoke of Loki's desire to study. Particularly books that she never did." Thor said.

"Dark magic as well." Odin replied. "As a hobby, originally, I know. That has influenced his knowledge."

"Which means he can help." Thor pressed.

"And if Loki escapes?" Odin asked, turning to face his son "You will have a new threat to face."

"The tesseract is not on Earth any longer." Thor said "That was one of the things that drew Loki there in the first place."

"There are other ways he can be harmful, my son." Odin replied.

"I will make sure that Loki doesn't not employ these methods." Thor said "No one has spoken to him since mother's death. I suspect he mourns like us. He knows his sentence."

Odin was quiet for a moment "Thor, this is a hazardous plan."

The Prince looked at the ground in disappointment, but then the Allfather continued.

"I see the need for his assistance. He will need to be carefully monitored. The warriors can accompany you if you find it necessary."

Thor let out a breath of relief "Yes, father."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters get longer and longer I promise :)  
This one is a bit shorter haha.  
Thank you for the kudos and comments! They mean so much!


	5. Persuasion in the Dungeon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :)

Thor walked down the steps to the dungeon. There were guards stationed closely together on the path down.

"My Prince." one of them said with a slight bow "What brings you here this day?"

"I need to speak to Loki." he replied shortly.

The guard looked slightly surprised, but he nodded. There were few prisoners in the cells in Asgard these days. Loki was among the three.

Thor walked down the hall lined by guards towards his brother's cell. The transparent golden wall surrounded the small area that he was in. Loki faced away from him. He was lying on the cushioned bed, arms resting across his stomach. The walls of the cell were quite tattered, causing Thor to stare for a moment. It looked like they'd been ravaged and then cleaned up. He wasn't sure if he should bring that up with Odin. 

"Loki." he said to summon him.

His brother's head turned slightly and then all the way. He rolled off the bed and stood up to face the God of Thunder, face in an expectant scowl. The elder brother wasn't sure if this could be an illusion or not.

"I assume you know about mother's death." Thor said.

Loki turned his face to the side slightly "I assume you know that was almost a year ago. What are you doing here, Thor? You didn't come to see me after she was killed so I don't believe you're coming to grieve now." his voice was very cold.

"I suspect we are past grieving with one another." Thor replied. Loki didn't reply to that, he just continued to stare at him, eyes narrowed.

"We need your help." Thor said, a little taken aback by his brother's unlaughing demeanor.

"We?" Loki asked "Asgard needs...my help." he turned his head in contempt "I'm quite sure Odin would disagree."

"Not Asgard. Earth." Thor said.

Loki scowled again for a moment "And you're coming to me?"

"The Jotuns have found a way onto Earth. We don't know where it is." Thor replied forcefully.

"Well as much as you would love to blame it on me, neither do I." Loki replied, eyebrows up as he turned away.

"Loki, we need your help to find it." Thor said, walking a few more steps to keep pace with him "I need you to come to Earth with me."

His brother stopped and looked at him. He stepped toward the barrier, green eyes emotionless. He leaned forward.

"No."

Thor opened his mouth slightly in shock at Loki's denial.

"You would deny the chance to be free of this place?" he asked with a bit on anger in his voice. He stepped forward to look eye to eye with his brother "Loki, if you come with me now, you may be able to convince father, and me, that you still have tendencies for good."

"What Odin thinks of me is none of my concern." Loki replied, voice seething with bitterness "He cast me out long ago. And so did you. I will not come back the moment you think you can use me."

"You took that upon yourself." Thor said and the hidden Jotun turned away again "I need you to come down to Earth with me. It is not just for their safety, but the safety of all realms." he paused for a moment "This is what mother would have wanted you to do, Loki."

Loki looked at him sharply, eyes angry "Really? How do you know that? She's dead."

"Loki." Thor said sharply "Odin is allowing you to leave this place. Don't deny this now." he paused a moment before adding "Please, brother."

Loki merely stared at him, hands tucked behind his back. His eyes didn't waver, but the coldness in them had dissipated. He appeared to be giving the subject deep thought. Whether or not Thor speaking of their kinship affected him was unclear because he gave no response.


	6. Unrecognizable

"Well this is quite the tale." Tony said, flipping a cup in his hand as he stared at the ceiling "Aliens are coming and the Avengers are sitting in a living room waiting for help from the guy who first brought aliens to the planet." He sat up "It's funny. Really funny."

"Well, we'll have him pretty well under wraps this time." Black Widow said.

"It doesn't really matter, he's still coming back." Tony said, setting the cup on the side table. Then he stood up "I, for one, am excited to see him. He did have a certain amount of humor to him."

"I think you'd better keep your mind on why he's coming here." Captain America said.

"It is. I gathered us together, remember that?" Tony asked "Geez, there's only so much a guy can do."

"I just hope Thor comes down in the same place he went up." Hawkeye said, peering out the window.

"I know as pretty as the design is, it doesn't add much for the lawn." Black Widow replied.

Outside there was a small rumble and Hawkeye shook his head in amusement.

"Don't think he did. That sounded a lot closer." he said with a sigh.

"Yep, well let's just hope he didn't hit the porch, is that fair?" Tony replied, walking to the front door.

Thor stood there with Loki, the grass blackened around their feet. Loki looked around for a moment. Thor glanced at him before the two of them walked forward together. Both their faces were painfully stoic.

Captain America came onto the porch with Black Widow and Hawkeye behind him.

Thor came up the steps and Tony spoke to Loki.

"Hello you little bastard, how's taking over planets going?" he asked.

To his surprise, Loki just walked past him. Tony put a hand on his chest.

"Well, I'm offended, he didn't even greet old friends."

"That's because we're not old friends." Captain America said.

"You and I are supposed to be. But somehow I think you missed the memo. Kindness." Tony replied.

"Is that what we are?" Captain America asked, walking past him into the house "Let's just get this done."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two Asgard men stood outside the house, silently. They'd been sent for the evening and into the night as an extra precaution. The kids inside were running up and down the stairs as they chased each other.

Laura had made dinner and they'd eaten quickly as if they didn't want to get comfortable. Loki had not joined them. And, so far, Heimdall hadn't reported anymore sitings of Jotuns on Earth.

Hawkeye had played with his kids for a minute, although the others still seemed to be a bit surprised about his secret little life. Captain America was sitting next to Dr. Banner and Tony at the table. There was a bottle of scotch sitting out and a few glasses sitting out on the table.

"Oh, by the way, you never told me how calling Fury went." Tony said, popping a piece of something into his mouth. He gazed at Black Widow expectantly.

"He answered." she replied "Said he'd be here tomorrow."

Tony opened his arms, palms towards the ceiling.

"I was...joking, but your face was worth it." Black Widow replied "I didn't reach him. Which means he's probably preoccupied with something else."

"I thought SHIELD was his occupation. And that you two were...buddies." Tony said. He dropped his arms. "Man I feel so in the dark about this group right now."

"Join his club. He seems quiet." Black Widow said, walking forward slowly. The others stopped talking for a moment as they looked at her. She nodded over at Loki.  
He was standing near the window, far enough away that he didn't overhear them.

"I agree. They must've been tough on him back there." Tony said, tapping the bottom of a fork on the table. He didn't sound particularly concerned.

"Where did Thor head off to?" Hawkeye asked "He's the one that's supposed to be watching him."

"Well, I'm sure we got it covered." Tony said, giving him a sideways glance filled with sarcasm.

"Oh come on, be real." Banner said "That guy's freaky. He's all magical and...weird. Just because he doesn't look like Thor doesn't mean he can't kill you just as easily. I don't think it's a good idea to start relaxing yet."

Tony sniffed in annoyance "Look at him, the guy won't even talk. Don't start worrying yet."

"I'm sorry, is this you being illogical?" Black Widow asked. She tilted her head "Because that's never happened before."

"Look, Loki's dangerous, it's as simple as that." Captain America said "We need to give him the run down of how it's going to work here.

"Someone needs another drink." Tony said, sliding a glass over.

Thor came in the door of the house and shut it behind him. Loki glanced over at him and his older brother walked over to him. He said something to which Loki replied, and then the God of Thunder went over to the other Avengers.

"For a minute I wondered if you bailed on us." Hawkeye said.

"Loki will be able to help us identify where the Jotuns have been accessing this realm." Thor said, without responding to Hawkeye "Tomorrow, we can start searching the areas."

"And Loki knows if he takes a step wrong then we'll blow him out of the water?" Hawkeye asked.

"Loki is under my guard. He knows the consequences." Thor replied.

"This is going to be a long search." Black Widow said.

"Until we can figure out a more effective method, this is what we'll have to do." Captain America.

"Well." Tony stood up. He walked over into the living room and patted Loki on the shoulder. The God of Michief looked over at him.

"Thanks for coming. It means a lot, buddy." Tony said with a hint of sarcasm as he finished his drink.

Loki continued to look at him for a brief moment, but his eyes returned to the window. Tony turned back around and shrugged at the others as he shook his head in annoyance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is worried about Loki coming too easily, just please continue to read. There is a long story ahead ;)  
Comments are always appreciated, thank you so much!!


	7. Silent Support

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! :)

"When are you leaving?" The older of Hawkeye's boys asked as his father walked past him.

"I don't know. Sometime today." Hawkeye replied, rubbing him on the head. He walked out of his boy's bedroom and into the master.

Laura came out of the bathroom and folded her arms as she walked over to him with a smile. He held out his arms and hugged her and she sighed.

"It's gonna be a long little while." she said.

Hawkeye chuckled "Tell me about it."

Laura raised an eyebrow at him as they separated.

"So this...Loki guy." she said "He's the one who invaded New York?"

"And killed Phil Colsen and everything else, yep." Hawkeye replied. He sounded blunt, but it was mostly towards their guest enemy.

"Hm." Laura glanced out the window to where Thor, Loki, and Tony stood. Her eyebrows went up "Not who I expected."

"Not the guy we knew." Hawkeye said, pulling out his bow and arrows from their closet.

"He seems so...sad."

"He probably deserves it." her husband replied, also peering out the window. There was a second of silence.

"Will you be alright today?" Laura asked, pointing out the obvious danger.

"I'm alright every time I go somewhere." Hawkeye replied with a grin.

"I know, but you won't even tell me what this is. That makes it seem a little bit more dangerous. If you know what I mean."  
Hawkeye slung his arrows over his back "Nah, I doubt we'll come across much trouble today. The seven of us SHOULD be able to handle it." he smiled slightly and Laura broke down into a smile. She reached to touch his chest with both hands.

"Just be careful. The kids were so excited you came to visit. Make sure you come back."

"Don't worry, I will be. Steve has a way of making things seem worse than they are."

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"So we'll start looking somewhere in New York." Tony said "I think Rogers wants us to go on foot so we don't miss anywhere." he paused as Loki and Thor looked at him and rolled his eyes "It's something he likes to do. Walking. And perfectionism."

Loki's eyes flicked between Thor and him for a moment, but he said nothing. Black Widow and Captain America came out of the house and came down the steps. Banner followed after a second.

"Where's Barton?" Tony asked, waving a hand "We need to go."

"He's saying goodbye to Laura." Black Widow replied.

"You know, he always struck me as a stand-offish kind of guy." Tony said with a snap of his fingers. He walked over to Captain America.

"Are you ready for this, Rogers?"

"How long have you lived again?." he replied "Stark?"

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Tony flew above the others, cloaked by his metal suit. The sky was covered by clouds making the overall atmosphere gray.  
"Jarvis." he said.

"Yes, sir."

"Scan for damaged areas." Ironman told him, eyes flicking over the screen in front of him "Especially for areas that have drops in temperatures. Thor said these bastards like to freeze things up."

"I'll keep an eye out, sir."

Meanwhile, Captain America and the others were walking along the barren hillside. They decided to avoid the cities for now because if the Jotuns had gone there, they obviously would have been on the news.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Black Widow called over to them.

"Anything that suggests the Jotuns have been here." Thor replied "That way we can try to the entrance."

Loki followed the God of Thunder, lips forming a small 'o' shape as he looked around warily. Captain America hadn't gone more than a few yards from his side the whole time. Banner took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

Black Widow and Hawkeye were following in a jeep, going ahead occasionally. They were all fully armed with weapons, many of them not for fighting Jotuns, but for their visitor from Asgard.

"Hey guys." Ironman said over their intercoms "We've got an intense temperature drop a few miles ahead."

"We'll pick the other guys up." Hawkeye said, turning the steering wheel to the left.

"No need." Thor said, walking forward. Him and Loki looked at eachother briefly before Thor grabbed onto his younger brother. He spun his hammer until it was scarcely a blur and flew in the sky.

Captain America looked after him with an angry sigh. Ironman took off after the God of Thunder.

Thor and Loki walked around as they looked at the frozen ground. The jeep was parked several yards out as the rest of the Avengers walked forward. Ironman landed with a run and his helmet retracted.

"Is this it?" Captain America asked.

"They've been here." Loki said, still examining the ground. The others looked at him as he spoke for the first time "But there is no passageway here."

"How is that possible?" Captain America asked. He looked around "The ice is just in this spot."

"Uhh...no, there's a few spots up ahead." Tony replied, pointing "Jarvis, count those for me."

"But this could be their general area." Black Widow said.

"Passages between realms are different than this." Loki told them "They have been here, but the portal is not here."

"Really?" Captain America asked, looking at him stoically.

Loki returned his look, but didn't reply to him. Hawkeye scanned the area around them, eyes narrowed.

"Sir, there are sixteen spots up ahead identical to these ones." Jarvis said.

"And yet, this isn't the place?" Banner asked, looking at Loki curiously.

"You asked for my assistance and I'm telling you that there is not an entrance to Jotunheim here." Loki said, eyes hard "You can believe me or not as you wish."

"Loki." Thor said, hammer clenched in his hand. He looked at the others "This means they have traveled through here. We need to keep going." He walked forward, leaving Loki and Captain America to stare at eachother for a moment. Then Loki turned to walk after Thor in silence.

Banner got down on one knee and picked up a few pieces of ice that were on the grass. He showed it to Tony with a scowl.

"This ice isn't melting." he said "And it's still really cold."

"Yeah, I don't think they were kidding about these things." Tony replied, looking after the two Gods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!


	8. Sensitive Suspicions

The sun was now falling behind the trees. Hawkeye pulled the jeep up to the house and cut the engine. To his surprise there was another car there. A big black SUV.

Ironman flew down to the ground and took a few elongated steps to slow himself. His helmet retracted off his head and he walked towards the house.

"He didn't even have the decency to call...back." he said, looking back at the others.

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The already frustrated group walked up the stairs and into the house. The living room was empty and the only light came from the dining room. Nick Fury sat at the table, a bottle on the table in front of him. He wasn't looking in their direction. In fact, he was talking to Laura.

Hawkeye pulled the black quiver from around his shoulder, walking forward as the door shut. Fury looked over and took another drink from his beer.

"Ah. You're back. Find anything to save the world yet?" he asked.

Laura stood up to walk over to her husband, who stood scowling slightly at the leader of SHIELD. When Loki stepped in, he locked eyes with Fury for a moment.

"Well, actually we found a trail." Tony replied sarcastically "Of ice."

"When did you get here?" Captain America asked, walking forward with his shield still in his hand.

"Easy, Cap, I'm just answering a few phone calls." He set down the bottle and stood up "I've been here a while. I didn't see a reason to disturb your efforts."

Loki took a few steps back and left the house again. Captain America looked back as Thor ducked back out of the door to follow his brother.

"I noticed you brought an old friend. SHIELD would burn me alive just for knowing he's here. Is he cooperating?" Fury asked, nodding after them.

"Actually, he hasn't said much." Tony replied "Much like someone else I know."

"There were a few pressing matters I had to take care of, Stark." Fury said.

"Yes, but this is more important." Tony replied, pointing at the ground and copying the serious face in front of him. Fury looked down at the ground where he had pointed for a moment.

"I have a hard time imagining the kind of things that take priority in your life, but go ahead, enlighten me. And include the part in which we had to call upon a past enemy to assist us with our problems."

"You might want to come in and sit down." Black Widow said with a small smile.

Captain America turned around to walk over to the door when Thor came back in. The God of Thunder had a very solemn expression causing Captain America to pause. Thor didn't say anything and Loki was visible outside. He stood at the base of the steps leading to the house. Obviously, he didn't want to hear the explanation of events to Nick Fury.

"Wait a moment." Fury said, stopping Black Widow "Thor, what exactly are these 'ice giants' you're talking about."

"They come from the realm Jotumheim." Thor said, walking forward, face grave as he explained thoughtfully "They are monsters that once sought to claim Earth as their own. Asgard was the only thing that stood in their way. They have been confined to their realm for centuries, but the Jotuns have found another way onto Earth that our watchman cannot see."

"Do they have the tesseract?" Fury asked, pointedly. This clearly showed his narrowed-minded thinking. There was definitely more than one way to travel between realms. Hawkeye looked at Thor.

"No, the tesseract is locked safely on Asgard. It was never in their possession." Thor replied.

"And." Fury looked at the ground, lips compressed "You don't suppose Loki has something to do with this? I mean, after all, his history is somewhat against him."

"Loki has been imprisoned and therefore has had no power over what is happening in the outside world." Thor replied.

"Are you sure?" Fury asked, leaning his eyes forward pointedly.

"Yes, our prisons inhibit all kinds of contact." Thor said "And our watchman will monitor Loki as closely as we watch him now."

"Yes, but Loki is as slippery as a fish and we can't exactly rely on someone light years away." Banner replied, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Heimdall can see everywhere. He knows Loki's tricks and will send aid if it becomes neccessary." Thor replied forcefully.  
"Speaking of necessary." Fury said dryly, looking at Banner "I think it would be best if you joined the fight only as a last resort."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Loki stood several yards away from the house now, hands clasped behind his back. It was very dark outside. He gazed up at the stars, eyes reflecting the small dots of light. The trees rustled quite loudly since there were so many of them.

The sky in this realm wasn't as pretty as the one on Asgard, but it was still beautiful. He had often spent many hours outside in solitude on his adopted realm. Frigga had loved to come and stand with him when stayed late into the night.

"Having a good evening are we?" Nick Fury's voice cut through the silence and Loki closed his eyes before looking up in annoyance. The man was walking towards him, a distance off. The Asgard soldiers were still stationed outside the house.

"I just wanted to say how grateful I am that you were willing to come to our aid." Fury said. His tone had no hint of sarcasm, but there was clearly a hidden meaning. Loki didn't jump to the bait.

"What is your plan while you're here?" Fury continued, stopping a few yards away. Loki's head turned to side slightly for a few seconds.

"We're at quite a disadvantage to these frost giants since none of us know even what to look for, let alone sense, besides you." he stared ahead at the God of Michief stoically.

Loki took in a deep breath and let it out with an almost inaudible sigh.

"Could you please...not?" he asked quietly without turning around.

Nick Fury waited a moment, eyebrows up, before pivoting on one foot and heading back towards the house. Loki glanced back once just to make sure he was gone. Neither of the Asgardian soldiers had moved.

Then, once the silence had resumed for a few minutes, he heard someone else approaching. Loki looked back, hands unclasping as he turned.

Thor was slowing to a halt. After a few seconds of silence, the God of Thunder spoke.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Loki turned to face him fully, his expression quiet "It's been a while since I've seen the night sky, Thor. I'd appreciate it if you could tell your friends to leave me be."

"You can't expect them to trust you right off after everything that happened." Thor said, waving his hammer slightly.

"I don't expect anything." Loki shot back with a hint of sharpness "I would appreciate it if your friends would leave me alone."

"Nick Fury told me you needed some company." Thor replied.

"I wouldn't heed any advice given to you by him." Loki said.

"Loki, come back inside." Thor didn't command, but his voice definitely lacked the genuine note he had when they were children "We need to discuss what we're going to do tomorrow."

"Do we really?" Loki asked, hinting at the fact that his older brother simply wanted him inside to keep a closer eye on him.

"Yes. Fury has other ideas." Thor responded. An owl called through the woods as he looked at the Jotun in disguise. The outside air was colder to Thor yet Loki seemed unaffected. The God of Michief waited a moment before starting forward. Thor turned to walk alongside him. Neither of them spoke on the way back.

The steps creaked as they walked up them and into the house. Loki stopped at the entrance, but Thor went to join the rest of them.

"So, I think the best thing to do would be to keep this as quiet as possible." Fury was saying, fingers pressed together as his elbows rested on his knees "The last thing we need is a mass panic that the Avengers have gathered together to fight off an army of ice giants. As you can imagine, after New York, people aren't taking kindly to that sort of thing."

"For the record." Tony said "I made all of these same decisions without you. Imagine that."

"Did you get to the part of being able to examine larger areas of land at a time?" Fury asked.

"Yes. I'm going to send out my suits. You see, I'm funding this. You didn't come until later."

"Are you telling me I'd be better off back in my own bed?" Fury asked.

"It might be more comfortable." Black Widow said. He looked at her. She shrugged.

"I'm not agreeing with him, I'm just stating a fact."

"Well, if you want to do that, Stark, I suggest you send them out with orders to stay put once they find something. They can keep watch for us until the ice giants, or whatever, come back again." Fury said. Tony rolled his eyes slightly as Fury ordered him to do what he had already been planning to do.

"That won't work." a voice said.

The others all turned their heads to Loki. Thor turned fully to face him, hammer hanging from his hand.

"Excuse me?" Fury asked, although his voice wasn't hostile "Why not?"

"Because any pathway they come through may not open again." Loki said.

"Are you saying they don't want to attack?" Captain America asked, taking a few slow thoughtful steps towards him "Because if not, we don't need you here to find the portal."

Loki looked at him, head tilted forward slightly, face turning hard.

"What makes you think the portal is always in the same place?"

The others looked at each other in silence before all eyes landed back on Loki. Thor watched his brother warily.

Captain America scowled "Do you know something we don't?"

"Yes, many things." Loki responded "Isn't that why you brought me here?"

Captain America switched the hand his shield was in and Black Widow's hand slipped slyly behind her. Neither of which escaped Loki's attention.

"You're not exactly inspiring any confidence." Captain America informed him "Why are you here, Loki?"

"Not for the reason you desperately want it to be." Loki responded simply.

"Loki, enough." Thor said. Loki leaned back slightly, eyes still on Captain America with his eyebrows up.

"We should know why he's really here." Captain America said.

"I'm here because Thor asked me to come." Loki said, answering as simply as possible. He was clearly bristling though.

"I don't remember you and Thor having that great of a relationship." Hawkeye said.

"No, why else are you here?" Captain America repeated more vehemently.

Loki stared at them, death in his eyes.

"I'm here because Thor asked me to be. Nothing more. Nothing less. I came of my own free will and I can leave of my own free will. You may find these pathways by yourself." He whipped around and Captain America blinked in surprise.

"Loki." Thor said sharply as he walked out of the door. He looked over at Captain America angrily.

"Why do you provoke him?" he snapped, striding quickly after his brother. He stomped down the steps.

"Well, this could be a problem." Fury said, looking down at the ground "Because if he really is on our side then we just lost a lot of valuable experience."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Loki." Thor growled, following him across the grass angrily "Loki."

Loki ignored him as he stopped and looked up into the night sky "Heimdall, open the bifrost!"

"Heimdall, don't!" Thor ordered, stepping heavily "Loki. Loki, STOP!" He hit his hammer on the ground sending a shot of lightning across the ground, not the mention the ear shattering crash that accompanied it.

Loki looked around quickly, and as much as he hated to show it, his eyes were wary for a moment.

"You're not going to leave, Loki." Thor said, walking the rest of the way until he stood two feet from his brother.

"Why not?" Loki asked, leaning forward dangerously. His usual smirk was nowhere to be seen "They obviously don't have use of me here."

"They don't know what they're up against." Thor said "We need you here."

"You're right." Loki replied "They don't know what they're up against."

"You would rather return to your cell on Asgard?" Thor asked furiously, waving an arm.

"I have no reason to stay and listen to them. I came here to offer assistance, but they clearly have. No. Need of it." Loki hissed.

"They do need it." Thor growled "They have no idea what's waiting if they don't accept it. You have to stay here."

Several of the others walked out of the house and onto the porch. Loki let out a bitter breath and turned away from them. Captain America started down the steps when Thor held out a warning hand to them.

"You might want to let Thor deal with this one, Cap." Fury said from inside the house. He didn't even bother to walk outside. In fact, he was still seated. Thor looked back at his brother.

"Loki, listen to me. We will not be able to find it on our own. Please do not leave. If the portal does not remain in the same place then it is even more critical that you are here." he said forcefully "We need to discuss how to proceed from here."

"I don't need too." Loki replied, his voice quiet.

"You have to stay here. Father let you out of your cell, don't return to it before you have completed what you came here for." Thor admonished. Loki had given him a glare when he said the word 'father', but his eyes were already back to the tree-filled scenery in front of him.

Thor waited silently for a response behind his younger brother for several seconds, but Loki didn't look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment if you are feeling generous;)


	9. Chapter 9

An Ironman suit shot across the sky, jet flame leaving a short trail behind it. It held out a hand and scanned the area below. After a moment, it rose back into the air and changed course.

There were about fifteen of them all doing the same thing this morning. Fury had left the previous evening and asked them to stay put until he sent word. Since Loki had informed them of the possibility of the portal changing its location, Tony had still decided to send out his machines to at least see if they could pinpoint how often the Jotuns were entering the realm. And it wouldn't hurt to have a bit of warning if suddenly the frost giants were racing towards an inhabitated city.

However, these suits had orders to relay their position every five minutes, just so they didn't have a repeat of their first encounter with a frost giant.

Meanwhile, as the machines did most of the hard work, Hawkeye's two boys were wrestling with toy swords in the house. Captain America stood in the kitchen, dressed in a brown jacket and jeans. After Thor had convinced Loki to stay, words had not passed between the Captain and the God of Michief. Loki had kept to himself more than before. However, he never went out of the sight of Thor or the Asgard soldiers. Currently, he was sitting in the living room reading a book he seemed to have gotten from nowhere. The two boys ran back and forth in the living room, shouting occasionally. It didn't seem to disturb Loki in the slightest.

Black Widow walked down the steps, a dark blue shirt creasing her figure. She had her arms folded as she sauntered over to Captain America.

"You really know how to tone down to casual." she commented.

"It keeps us focused on the job." Captain America said simply.

"Oh, it definitely keeps you focused on the job." Black Widow said with a small trill in her throat. Captain America looked at the ground and shook his head slightly.

Thor and Loki had returned from speaking to Heimdall not many minutes before. Hawkeye still meant to have words with them about the amount of times they were using the Bifrost on his grass, but he never seemed to get around to it.

"You'd think those Asgard people would get tired standing out there all day." Black Widow said, nodding towards the windows while putting a grape into her mouth.

"Well, I hope they're taking turns." Captain America said.

Banner walked into the kitchen, looking around the house "Does anyone else find this house to be a lot bigger on the outside?"

"Uh oh, I don't think we called for a code greeb." Black Widow said, rolling on her elbows to get off the table and looking at him.

"No, I just feel like this house gets a little tighter with this many people in it." Banner said, waving an arm to accentuate his words. He looked behind him at Loki for a moment. The two boys ran through the house with a few yells of triumph, waving their swords wildly. "By the way, where does Thor keep disappearing too? I saw him outside just a second ago, but now he's gone again."

Then Thor walked into view outside the window and into the house.

"God, those guys are good." Banner said.

"They are gods." Black Widow agreed sarcastically.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Loki flipped the page of his book, studying the next page with the same amount of thoughtfulness. Thor stood not ten feet away, arms folded as he watched the older and younger brother play. Loki seemed to be too ingrained in his book to notice.

Then they both glanced out the window momentarily as one of the Ironman suits flew towards them. It spun once in the air before landing hard with a clank. Both of Hawkeye's boys stopped fighting to look outside. The suit stood up and started walking over to the house. The helmet retracted and Tony held out his arms to the kids as he got up the steps.

"It's okay, it's me, not an alien." he said.

"What happened?" Thor asked as he approached.

"Umm...nothing." Tony replied sounding much to relaxed for the situation "Nothing at all. Nothing new. Though, I'm not the only one up there." He walked over to the others and looked at Captain America "Way to dress up. I like it."

"Is what I'm wearing seriously our biggest concern?" Captain America asked, holding his arms in exasperation.

"We're trying to bring you into our age." Black Widow said. Captain America gave her a look.

Plastic swords clashed together as the two boys started to get more intense. The four of them by the kitchen seemed to be able to block them out with the exception of a few glances.

The younger boy chased the other outside, sword raised above his head. Thor moved back for them to pass more easily. It was only moments that there was a complained yell from outside and a few more before the older brother, Cooper, came on with both swords in his hands.

"You can't play with them." he was telling his younger brother "You're not as good as me so you can't fight."

"I can to fight. That's my sword." Nathaniel said, angrily.

"No it's not." Cooper told him "Dad got me both these swords for my birthday. That's why I'm his favorite because I get to be like him when I'm older. You're always copying me and I don't like it when you play with my toys."

"You're not Dad's favorite, I am." Nathaniel argued, stomping one foot. Loki looked up from his book at the conflict.

"Dad hugged me first when he got home." Cooper bragged. He turned around with the swords.

"That's not fair." Nathaniel protested, stomping after his brother and grabbing the end of his sword. Cooper pulled it away.

"Go away, you're too little to play with. You always break my things. I'm telling Dad on you." he said, running up the stairs. Nathaniel turned around and ran back outside the house.

Thor looked after him for a second and then glanced down at Loki for a small moment. Loki was gazing after the older son, expression unreadable. After a moment, his eyes blinked back down to his book.

Tony returned his eyes to Captain America "Do you want to wear one of my suits?"

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once afternoon came, many of the people in the house had given up on waiting for Fury to give them the word.

Tony had offered to fly back to town and pick up a few fast food orders for them all, partly as a joke, and partly because he was serious. Banner had given his low opinion of restaurant food and Captain America told him how irresponsible that would be.

Now that his idea had been thoroughly bashed upon, Tony was checking on his robots that were prowling the area. He had a big see-through board he kept tapping on.

"Jarvis, let's get them spinning out a little farther from the house." he said.

"Yes, sir." The robotic voice replied.

Laura walked down the stairs, her hair bouncing on her shoulders.

"Oh, class, say 'hi, Laura.'" Tony said loudly to the others. She smiled slightly as he waved at her. She walked past the window and then paused as she spotted something. She stared silently for several seconds, mouth open a bit.

Loki was outside with her youngest son. He appeared to be showing him a movement with a blade. Nathaniel held a sword she had never seen before, although from the way he was holding it and waving it around, it couldn't have been heavier than foam. It had a gold hilt and a shiny silver blade.

Laura glanced behind her at the others for a second, almost as if worried, but her eyes softened back down when she saw the innocence of it. She'd come down to hopefully resolve the spat between her sons.

Thor looked over and saw her staring outside. He took a few steps over, wondering if Loki had left the porch. The guards were still outside. As he got closer, he realized what she was watching. Thor and Laura looked at each other for a brief second. He was unsmiling, but clearly thoughtful as he looked out upon the scene.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hawkeye's younger son swished the light sword through the air. It was longer than his brother's swords and had a much better grip on the handle.

"My brother's always telling me that I'm not good enough at fighting to fight him." he said.

"Well, now you have your own sword." Loki replied, his voice mild.

"And it's way better than his!" Nathaniel boasted.

"Your sword is much better. You can fight with me instead." Loki told him.

Nathaniel looked downcast all the sudden, a foot scuffing the ground as he waved his sword. "He's always saying that he's Dad's favorite because he's older and can do more things."

"You're just as good as your brother." Loki said gently "Imagine how surprised he'll be when you show him new fighting techniques."

The boy glanced at him as if not sure what the word meant, but he nodded in excitement.

"Now, hold your weapon here." Loki said, demonstrating to keep it at waist level, blade pointed outward.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hawkeye watched through the window, head tilted to see past the columns on the porch. His eyes lowered to look at the sill. Then he turned around, walking over to the others. Although he still appeared very reserved talking to the little boy, Loki had opened up to him more than anybody else. Nathaniel had cheered up very quickly, seeming to forget about the spat with his brother.

"Any word from Fury?" Hawkeye asked. The group of talented people in the kitchen seemed to have lost their vivaciousness now that they had decided it would be best to wait for Director Fury to return.

Laura walked down the stairs, one hand sliding on the rail.

"Nothing yet." Captain America said, looking up from where he was absentmindedly flipping a cup over and over.

Thor had one hand on his mouth. He'd been quieter since he'd noticed Loki out there with Nathaniel, but as Laura passed him, he spoke.

"Do your sons share a close bond?" he asked.

Laura turned to face him, almost as if surprised by the question.

"Yes, they like to play with each other more than anything when it comes down to it." she said "But." she leaned forward as if she was going to share a funny secret "Whenever their father comes home, they tend to fight more. They're in this rut of trying to decide who he likes best. Of the two of them, Nathaniel is generally the kinder one about it, but they could go at it for hours."

Thor waited a moment, thinking.

"Loki and I used to do the same thing." he said. Then he smiled slightly and tossed his hammer "I always won."

Laura chuckled and leaned even closer "Older sibling syndrome." with that she continued one into the kitchen.

Thor's smile faded as he looked back out at Loki and Nathaniel.

"Look." Tony caught into his thoughts "If we're going to literally be Fury's Avengers, then I suggest we at least need to all be gone when he gets here." He waved a hand dismissively "Make him think we got bored."

"You really think Fury's that dumb?" Black Widow asked, peering up at him from the side.

"No." Tony said "I know he is. But even if he doesn't fall for it, that would be a great conversation starter."

Cooper and Lila came loudly down the stairs. Cooper no longer carried his swords, but the front door was open so he could see right outside.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. He pushed past Lila, who shot a scowl after him. Thor took a few steps toward the front door.

The boy ran outside, eyes wide as he approached them.

"That sword is sooo cool." he said, stopping a few feet away. When he went to walk toward his younger brother, however, Loki stepped in front of him.

"I believe you told your brother he was too young to play with. He has his sword and you have yours." he said.

Nathaniel peered from behind Loki at his older brother. Cooper was looking up at the God of Michief with a stunned expression.

"Perhaps you should apologize. And see if he would be willing to play with you now." Loki said.

Cooper glanced at his feet for a few seconds without saying anything "I'm sorry Nathaniel. I was just mad. I didn't mean it. I really like to play with you."

Loki stared at him stoically and then glanced down at the younger son.

"It's okay." Nathaniel replied, sounding excited.

"Can I fight with you guys?"

Loki watched him for a second before holding out his hands together. He pulled them apart vertically, an identical sword appearing out of thin air.

Both of the boys stared at him in amazement, mouths open. Loki took the blade and held the hilt out to the older brother. Cooper took it with awe-struck eyes.

"How did you do that?"

"That's my secret." Loki replied with a hint of a smile.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Laura watched out the window with a smile now that both of her boys were playing together. Lila was in the kitchen coloring while talking to Black Widow. Captain America kept leaning back to check outside, looking at Loki occasionally. The God was reading from his book again, not very far away from the children. He let it rest in his hands as he looked down. The book was very worn as if it had been read numerous times. Sometimes Loki pulled out a folded piece of parchment tucked inside and opened it.

"What does he keep reading?" Captain America asked. Thor glanced at him.

"I don't know, I got a peek at it. I couldn't read it." Hawkeye said.

"Loki always had a love for reading." Thor said.

"I need to introduce him to technology." Tony said, typing something on his transparent board.

"I think already he's far more advanced than technology." Banner replied, looking over his glasses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of an update these last few days. I am on vacation and without service for the most part :)


	10. Loyal Ally

Lila had decided that she wanted her mom to help her make pancakes. It had been a very insistent request. She had put on an apron that was way too big for her and approached her mother with a bowl and whisk. Hawkeye had smiled which only encouraged his daughter even more.

Consequently, Laura was in the kitchen now, making pancakes. Lila was bringing plates to each of them, starting with her father. Once she got to Thor, she had very quickly realized he had a bigger appetite than the others and seemed to like pancakes more than anything.

Although the group could very easily sit and enjoy each other's company, there were two things impeding them. First was the fact that they had an impending problem of invasion. The second was that an old enemy was there. Even though Loki hadn't caused them any grief, his presence was off-putting for them. Especially his quiet and subdued demeanor. Everyone except the children was affected, although Laura and Thor seemed to be least of all.

Thor had known his brother when he was quieter. Although Loki had always been one for michief, he had preferred reading to most things. And unlike Thor, he ate very little if anything at all. Lila had taken a plate to him outside on the porch, where he preferred to stay, and he had accepted them, but hadn't touched them since.

They had heard nothing from Fury, but the others had come to a mutual agreement that they would keep on the lookout with Tony's machines. Thor was also relying greatly on Loki to warn them if anything should appear suspicious. The rest of the team had no such confidence.

Both Nathaniel and Cooper had taken their sword inside their rooms the previous evening and then Nathaniel had brought it to show his father this morning. Captain America and Tony had also leaned in for a look.

"It's the best!" Nathaniel boasted "It's long enough so that I can reach taller people."

He dramatically began waving the sword through the air.

"Well. Looks like we have our first new Avenger." Tony said, waving a hand in his direction "Swords. That's a new one."

"Innocence is the best weapon. Sometimes it would be nice if none of us knew what was actually happening." Banner said.

"Really?" Tony asked "I'd rather face the problem..." he slowly extended a hand as if aiming where to shoot "Head on."

"We aren't even doing that." Black Widow said, voice flat and she looked at Tony with a sudden smile. Nathaniel stopped swinging his weapon as they spoke. Apparently, he found it uninteresting and turned around to leave the room.

"I know we aren't. And it's actually starting to get on my... nerves." Tony replied "What if a bunch of them are already here? I mean, even if Loki is telling us everything that is happening, he can't know what's happening halfway across the world."

"I don't even really understand what he's doing in the first place." Banner said, looking between a few of them.

"He's found entrances out of Asgard that were not known to any of our people. He knows how to uncover them." Thor replied, his voice very low compared to the rest of them.

"Then let's ask him what to do next." Tony said, walking towards Captain America and Thor, looking at them as it expecting an objection.

"He's not here to give the orders." Captain America said.

Tony rolled his eyes "Does it just have to come out of my mouth for you to hate it?"

"You generally come up with more irrational ideas." Captain America corrected.

"Here." Tony grabbed Banner and pulled him to the side slightly "You say it."

Banner looked at him for a moment before back at Captain America "Uhhh...well, we don't have to ask for his next move, but it might not hurt to see what he knows."  
Tony raised his eyebrows as he waited for a response.

"That's not what you suggested." Captain America said.

"That is exactly what I said. Just in more words." Tony replied, off-handedly.

"Take care how you speak to Loki." Thor warned "No matter his previous actions, we will not be able to know when the Jotuns enter this realm without him."

"In less words, Rogers, you already pissed him off so someone else needs to do it." Tony said, looking at Captain America plainitively.

"I believe he is only here for the reason I asked him. It took persuasion to get him to come in the first place." Thor said, gesturing with his hand faced down.

"No offense, but isn't he supposed to be good at deceiving?" Black Widow asked, looking at Thor.

"The more you treat him like he is going to betray us, the more likely it becomes." Thor said "He knows he is unwelcome here."

"So we don't need to make it worse, is that what you're saying?" Banner asked, sounding casual without the spite.

"Let's see what he knows first." Captain America said with a hint of finality.

Thor turned around to walk over to the door. He spoke and Loki glanced up from the parchment he was reading. Then he softly folded it and walked over to join his older brother as they walked into the house.

"You said something about how the passageways change places." Captain America said, starting off the conversation coolly, but getting right to the point "How are we supposed to pinpoint where it is if it's not in the same place?"

Loki's eyes flicked to Thor briefly. He didn't speak for a moment, almost as if he wondered if this was a provocation.

"There are passageways between realms and portals that open between realms. Passageways remain the same. Portals can only be opened by certain situations. The ice shows that the frost giant's entrance opened and closed. Therefore they have a portal, not a passageway."

"What is the situation that's granting them access then?" Banner asked, mostly as a general question. He asked it as if wondering if it was a valid inquiry.

"They have found a way to open portals. But the fact that they have not already overtaken this realm points that they can only open it for a limited time." Loki said, expression impassive "Something is allowing them entry here." He raised his chin a bit "Where is my scepter?"

The question took everyone by surprise and for a moment they all looked at each other.

"Why?" Hawkeye asked, looking at him with suspicion.

"I'm not asking you to give it to me, I'm asking where it is." Loki responded, his quiet voice remaining steady as he looked at them.

"So you can find it and use it?" Captain America asked bluntly. Thor was just as wary as the rest of them so he didn't jump to prevent another argument.

"I'm saying." Loki said, pausing "That it might be the source of your problem."

Nathaniel came back into the room from the kitchen and his eyes brightened slightly as he saw Loki.

"What do you mean?" Captain America asked, looking at him intently.

"Many...beings...would be interested in getting it. It may have pushed them to find ways to come here. Now, whether Jotunheim knows about this, I don't know. They may just be taking advantage of the open portals."

Nathaniel grabbed onto Loki's hand and the God jerked it away, glancing down at the child for a second. Laura beckoned her kid away from the group, but he ducked back behind and sprinted away michieviously.

"It's under SHIELD's protection." Hawkeye said finally "None of us could get to it if we wanted too."

Loki gave a slow, almost imperceptible, nod and turned around. Thor didn't stop him as he silently returned to his place outside.

"Well that might add another layer of complication." Black Widow said.

"Yes, but at least it is a possible explanation for the disturbance between the realms." Thor replied.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Loki fingered the piece of crinkled parchment in his hands, looking down as he thought. It had been folded so many times that there were dark lines in the shape of a cross on it. Nathaniel came out of the house, his new sword in hand. Cooper followed him momentarily. The God of Mischief didn't look at them until Nathaniel spoke to him.

"Loki?" he asked with a little bit of tentativeness "Will you come and fight with us again?"

They waited a moment hopefully before Loki let out a deep breath. He set down his book and paper on one of the ledges on the column. The two boys smiled in triumph and ran down the stairs. Loki walked down after them.

"Can we get more of these swords?" Cooper asked.

"I think one is plenty." Loki replied.

"You should show is how to stab someone with them." Nathaniel said eagerly.

"I already know how to stab someone." Cooper protested.

"It's harder when you're actually fighting them." Loki replied, with the faintest hint of amusement. Cooper shrugged.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hawkeye walked out onto the porch a few minutes later, arms folded. He watched as Nathaniel took a massive swing at Loki, but the man avoided it smoothly. Cooper had laughed once before and been rebuked by the God so now he kept his mouth shut. Cooper couldn't hit him either.

Hawkeye turned slightly back towards the door, but the things sitting on the pillar caught his eye. He glanced back up at Loki before lifting up the piece of paper slightly. All he caught before Loki looked over was the word Frigga on the bottom of the paper. The book sitting under it was different than the one he had been reading earlier. This one had a title Hawkeye could read.

Gateways Amid Realms

Laura peeked at him on the porch after a second.

"Is this you being jealous?" she asked, nodding out at the three of them in the field.

"No...uhh..." Hawkeye chuckled slightly "I'm wondering actually where those swords came from."

Laura shrugged "Loki, somehow. It got the two of them to stop fighting. They like you a little too much. Maybe if you would come home more often they wouldn't need to be your favorite all the time."

"Imagine if they found out Lila was my favorite." Hawkeye said before giving his wife a smile. She chuckled as she turned back around to walk inside.

Cooper and Nathaniel were both standing next to each other, seemingly having a private word. Loki stood silently, watching both of them. Then they broke apart and suddenly both ran at him the same time. The two boys went right through him and both stumbled and fell to the ground behind him.

Hawkeye blinked and took a few steps forward as if not sure what he saw. Loki was walking up behind them, hands clasped together. Cooper and Nathaniel looked up at him, dirt smudged on their shirts. They gaped in shock at him and immediately Nathaniel started protesting. Loki held out his arms slightly, saying something in return. Cooper was old enough to realize that what had just happened wasn't normal. He was staring at the God with his mouth hanging.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hawkeye stepped back into the house a few minutes after his wife. Lila was picking up plates and taking them to the sink. She was humming something under her breath as she walked back and forth.

"So, we've got a new area of ice." Tony said, staring down at the screen below him. He tapped a few times on it before glancing up at Hawkeye. The others had already heard the news apparently, because none of them reacted.

"So, we missed them?" Hawkeye asked, tossing a toy from the ground to the couch. His hands went to his hips.

"Well, I feel like they must have been pretty quick." Tony said "I've got patrols stationed out there that would've spotted them." He glanced back at the screen, pursing his lips "Area was smaller though."

"Thor, is negotiation a possibility?" Captain America asked, looking at the God of Thunder.

Thor thought for a moment before he spoke.

"Asgard is not at peace with them. They currently do not have a sitting king. They take advice from those higher in rank. If they have found a way onto Earth, they will not be willing to talk."

"No offense." Black Widow said, once again "But what is Asgard doing about this?"

"Thor's here." Tony said, without looking over.

"My father allowed Loki to come." Thor replied "And there are soldiers at the ready should an attack happen."

"Well can't they just go to Jotunheim and take care of it first?" Banner asked, waving his glasses as he moved his arm "I mean, not to say anything against you, but I kind of feel we're at a disadvantage here. They can get to us, but we can't get to them."

"Just so you're aware, no matter how many times you tell him not to be offended, you are in fact inferring that his people aren't doing anything." Tony said, turning to him with a smirk.

"No." Banner said a little defensively "I was just asking clarifying questions."

"We don't interfere unless it's necessary." Thor replied "Earth is no longer a defenseless realm."

"Hopefully after this it won't be either." Hawkeye said with grim amusement. Black Widow joined him in smiling.

"And a Loki appears to be studying more on how to find portals between realms." Hawkeye added "At least that's what I saw."

"There's a book on that?" Banner asked, looking at the others "Why don't we have that?"

"What Loki can do cannot be learned through a book." Thor replied "But there are many that can give knowledge on things like this.

"All those books look to be like a thousand years old." Hawkeye said jokingly.

"Probably more." Thor replied, not noticing that he was laughing. Hawkeye stopped and glanced at him with his eyebrows up.

"Did you read anything in the book?" Captain America asked.

"No. I think that other paper is a letter though. I didn't read It, but it was signed with the name Frigga. At least I think that's a name." Hawkeye said.

Thor looked at him, face solemn, and then his eyes fell to the ground.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I can never hit you." Cooper said in frustration as he looked at Loki "You just keep disappearing."

Loki looked at him slyly as Nathaniel spoke.

"How do you always know when we're coming?"

He was referring to the numerous attempts made by the children to sneak up and attack him in which Loki had avoided them each time.

"Keep trying." Loki invited "You never know when you'll succeed."

Cooper scowled "You're just saying that so you can trick us again."

"I want to learn how to block someone." Nathaniel interrupted. He stared up at the two of them.

"Fight each other." Loki said, taking a step back "See what you've learned."

Nathaniel looked a little disappointed, but his older brother turned to him eagerly. Since he was smaller and the sword was almost as long as he was tall, Nathaniel held it with both hands. Cooper on the other hand, could handle it with one. They began to smack each other's weapons. As children, they focused more on how well they could hit the other person's sword, not the opponent themselves. As much as they wanted to learn, they were more focused on their movements looking impressive.  
Loki looked back at the house for a moment. He watched the boys practice silently, eyes unfocused as he thought. And although Captain America thought he was being unobtrusive, Loki was aware that he was approaching. The soldier stopped a little ways off from the three of them. Nathaniel wasn't fooled either.

"Can I use your shield?" he asked, backing off from the fight with Cooper to look at him in awe.

"You seem to be doing pretty well with your sword." Captain America replied "Besides, you need two hands for that."

Nathaniel seemed satisfied apparently as he stepped back forward to fight with Cooper.

Loki didn't turn towards the man walking to them.

A sword had yet to be knocked out of either boy's hand, but they were now practicing holding each other off. They both pushed against the other brother's blade, grunting in the process. Ultimately, Cooper overpowered his younger brother and his sword flew a few feet away. His mouth flew open and he stared as if surprised at himself.

"Did you see that?" he demanded from Loki.

"I did. You-" Suddenly the God of Michief looked abruptly in the distance, breaking off his sentence.

Captain America looked there and then back at him, eyes alarmed.

"What? What is it?"

"You two." Loki said, speaking to Nathaniel and Cooper without looking at them "Get inside now." he turned his head towards the house slightly "Thor!" Then he walked closer to the boys and ushered them both closer to the house.

"What is going on?" Captain America demanded.

"Why are we going inside?" Nathaniel asked as Thor came out of the house. The others followed him one at a time.

"Loki, what's wrong?" Thor asked, coming up to him quickly.

"They're coming here." Loki responded.

"Here?" Thor asked, looking at the field in front of them.

"Right here." Loki said, seeming to watch something they couldn't see "There's a portal opening."

"How do they know to come here?" Thor asked, looking at his brother.

"I don't know." Loki responded, without looking back. His eyes flicked back and forth.

Captain America walked to stand next them. Laura was be beckoning both of her boys and Hawkeye took both their arms and pulled them up the steps where he handed them off to before turning back to the others.

"There's nothing happening." Captain America said. They were all scanning the area, getting more doubtful by the second.

"Wait." Loki replied shortly.

Thor's hammer shifted in his hand, eyes flicking back and forth.

"I don't know how mortals will fare against frost giants." he said lowly.

"Well, I think we can manage just fine." Hawkeye responded. He had one arrow pulled back, aiming for the empty field. He stood directly in front of his house "Besides, I'm planning on helping from a distance."

"Good. Natasha?" Captain America looked at her "You do the same."

She tilted her head "I hope you're kidding."

"The Jotun's touch burns Asgardians. Mortals may not be as fortunate." Thor said.

"So hitting is out." Tony told her.

"Unless it's you." Black Widow muttered.

The air flickered about onr hundred yards in front of them as if an invisible wall was being hit from behind. Two massive blue beings came forward. They had dark red eyes and their skin was anything but smooth. They stared at the group in front of them as they walked forward.

"Two? I think we can handle that." Tony said, frowning with interest. As he spoke, several more started entering through the portal.

"Oh shit." he said.

"Laura, keep the kids inside." Hawkeye said, staring at them grimly.

Thor and Loki started walking forward. The lead frost giants didn't stop until they were about twenty feet from each other.

"Asgardians, depart." the taller one growled, baring his teeth "This is not your fight to interfere with."

"How did you come to this realm?" Thor asked forcefully, hammer raised.

"It seems you have more enemies than you thought." The frost giant spoke again. He looked at Loki "You fight with a traitor to your house. Our king went to your realm and never returned."

"Then I suppose you were wrong." Loki replied, staring up at him "Your fight is with me."

The other Jotun growled angrily. Two long and very sharp knifes slid down into Loki's hands.

"Leave now!" Thor ordered "Or you will be forced back."

"I don't think so, son of Odin." the frost giant replied, ice growing off his right arm. At least a hundred other Jotuns were gathered behind them. Then, without warning, they charged, roaring a battle cry.

"Heimdall, now!" Thor yelled up at the sky. Loki brandished both daggers impatiently, watching the large monsters approach.

"Well, it's time to see how we fare." Tony said with a hint of sarcasm. He took a step back and pressed a button on his watch. Immediately a suit flew out from a case below the porch. It encased Tony and suddenly a fully fledged Iron man was standing there.

Thor and Loki ran forward towards the onslaught of frost giants as he took off into the air.

"They weren't kidding about the giant part." Tony observed, eyes racing across the screen in front of him.

Thor threw his hammer and it smashed into several frost giants as it flew through the air. Black Widow had backed up to where Hawkeye was, pistol pointed up as she watched the scene.

The ground beneath the Jotuns was covered in ice and getting taller every moment. It grew off their arms as weapons once they got close enough to strike someone. Captain America slammed his shield into one of them, shoving it backwards. Hawkeye shot an arrow and immediately drew another one. Banner waited on the porch, heeding Nick Fury's voice about waiting until the necessary moment.

Only three of the Avengers were fighting. Fortunately, Loki could hold his own and more. Him and Thor were definitely the most experienced in fighting these monsters and it showed.

Ironman weaved between a few of them, the mechanic beep going off as he fired, palm facing forward.

Loki turned so quickly, Asagrdian knifes cutting easily through Jotun flesh. Each time they attacked, he dodged, kicking opponents away. Several times, a frost giant would leap at him, only to find themselves hitting empty air. Hawkeye and Black Widow watched him disappear over and over again, the illusions very misguiding for the attackers.

Thor knocked the frost giants to and fro, hammer singing as it was swung. The portal still hadn't closed so more of them had joined the others.

"Barton, we've got a few of them coming close to the house." Ironman warned him, his scanner flicking all over his screen.

"Yep, see em." Hawkeye said, pulling back an arrow and letting it fly. It struck one and the blue monster collapsed backwards, arrow protruding from its chest. Black Widow fired a few more shots at the oncoming frost giants.

One of Loki's daggers, which seemed to reappear in his hand as quickly as Thor's hammer, hit another. He also used shorter serrated blades from time to time for longer distances.

Banner was watching on the porch, leaning every few seconds to see a particular fight. Captain America flung his shield and it hit one and then a second frost giant before returning to him. Thor swung his hammer like a sword, making it look light as a feather. Loki and him were about two feet apart as they fought.

There was a sudden commotion inside the house and Banner looked back. The door swung open and Nathaniel came running out. Laura was calling his name repeatedly, getting more intense each time.

Banner tried to stop him, but ended up going down the steps after him. As he passed, Hawkeye's eyes shot open and he lowered his bow.

"Nathaniel!" he said sharply, throwing his arrow back into the quiver. He ran after the kid, who was protesting.

"I can fight! I can fight!" he said.

Loki and Captain America looked over as got closer. Distracted for a moment, Captain America narrowly held up his shield in time to block a fierce hit from a frost giant. Loki held out his hand and the sword disappeared from Nathaniel's hand. The little boy stared down in shock, leaving Hawkeye enough time to grab him.

Unfortunately, with the distraction, several of the Jotuns had made their way towards the house. They separated to go on both sides. Loki spread his hands quickly and the area surrounding the house was suddenly clouded in smoke. This had aided Thor and him before. Hawkeye kept running with Nathaniel held in both arms.

Loki shot a brief glance at Captain America before running after the frost giants on the left side of the house. The rest of the battle wasn't much farther away now that the Avengers had been driven back.

Hawkeye handed Nathaniel off to Black Widow and quickly loaded an arrow back onto his bow. He shot one at the monsters closest to the house, eyes more concerned than they had been a few minutes earlier. It was clear that they were being overwhelmed at the moment.

Unfortunately, not all of the monsters decided to surround the house. Several of them ran straight towards the porch. Hawkeye was looking over at the ones on the right and didn't turned until they were too close. He shot an arrow that went through the first one but the second one grabbed him on the arm. Hawkeye yelled out in pain as steam arose from where the monster held him. The giant was suddenly thrown backwards, having been hit by a well aimed blade. Loki stared over intensely, still leaned forward slightly from throwing it. Hawkeye fell down, his arm a horrible dark blue where it had been touched.

"Barton needs help." Loki called, looking over at Thor.

"Then help him." Thor half-snapped in strain from the battle. Loki hesitated a moment, eyes hard, before he started his way over to Hawkeye. Luckily, Black Widow came down the steps swiftly to him. Banner followed her down to help her carry him up. Loki fended off another frost giant, catching its iced arm between his two knifes. With strength surprising for his size, he turned the arm away from him and quickly spun away.

There was a bright flash of light and suddenly, four other Asgardians were standing in the middle of the field. With a loud yell, the largest of them all leapt into battle, apparently informed of their job.

"We've got help." Ironman said over the intercom, landing and going into hand to hand combat with a frost giant. It caught his arm in a grip bending the armor slightly. Ironman opened his palm to shoot him with his other hand, sending the giant flying.

"Fandral, help Loki by the house! We need to keep them away from there." Thor said, his voice tense as he thrust his hammer forward.

The most slender man glanced at him.

"Right." he said, turning to run over to Loki.

The woman and other man joined Thor in the fight nearest to the portal. Sif had both hands on a double bladed sword while Hogun showcased a spiked sphere.  
Captain America watched them for the half second he had before he was once again engaged in combat. The sharp sound of ice crackling filled the battlefield as more frost giants created weapons of solid ice. There were no longer any coming from the portal. Nor were any leaving, leading to the idea that it had fully closed. The rest of the Jotuns were on Earth for good.

Fandral didn't greet Loki, but they worked well together to prevent the monsters from progressing. The God of Michief twisted between several of the oncoming frost giants, blades flashing and Fandral fought with a long thin sword. He seemed to be enjoying himself more than any of the others. All of the Asagrdians were very careful not to allow the invaders to touch them. Hawkeye had been taken inside and the others hadn't come back out.

Fortunately, with the added help of the warriors, the Jotuns numbers were declining fast. Volstagg took out several with his ax and Sif wasn't far behind. Seeing the others killed only seemed to enrage the other frost giants even more. They showed no thoughts of retreat.

Loki and Fandral went back to the main battle, having killed the rest by the house. Captain America fought nearby Hogun. Ironman now flew the perimeter, stopping any that got too far away.

Less than ten remained on the field now. Thor had a cut above his eye. Loki had blood smeared on his neck, although it could have been frost giant blood. Captain America wasn't in better shape, but he shoved a Jotun backwards and Thor threw his hammer to finish it off. Even though it had most likely saved them, the reinforcements had come too late. It had ended as quickly as it started.

They were all breathing heavily as Ironman landed in a run beside them.

"Hawkeye's hurt." Captain America said, looking at the others. He stared at the warriors for a second before turning to walk to the house. Thor glanced Loki, who was just as sweaty and tired as him before holding out his hand to summon his hammer back. The mortals on Earth were nowhere near what they were used to fighting with.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As they arrived in the house, they found Banner, Black Widow, and Laura all huddled over Hawkeye. They'd put him on the dining table. He was arching his back in pain, face clenched. Thor walked over with Tony and Captain America behind him.

"It's spreading. Quickly." Black Widow said, looking at Thor.

The mark that had originally only been on his lower arm, had indeed spread to his upper arm and shoulder. Laura looked horrified, although she was controlling it fairly well.

"A Jotun touched him?" Volstagg asked incredulously, looking at his friends.

Loki hung back, a little ways from the warriors, and peered at the scene quietly.

"How do we stop this?" Captain America asked, directing his question at the Asgardians.

"We've never had to heal a mortal." Thor said.

"Well, we need to do something." Tony replied, looking at him and back at the horrendous burn in exasperation "It's spreading too quickly."

"We could not get him to a healer fast enough." Sif said, although she didn't sound harsh.

It was now halfway over his neck. Hawkeye was still clearly in pain, groaning, but definitely growing weaker.

For some reason, Thor looked back at Loki. Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel had all come downstairs and were gazing over, eyes wide. Whether they knew what was going on was unclear.

Loki glanced at them before taking a few steps closer to the group surrounding Hawkeye. Captain America scowled at him as he approached quietly. The God of Mischief's eyes were low.

Laura was on her knees, eyes wide as she gently stroked her husband's hair. She looked at the others, desperate for a solution. Black Widow didn't look much better off.

Loki gave a very quick look at the group, expression impassive and surprisingly a little bit defiant. They were staring at him soberly and few looked a bit wary. He hesitated a moment before slowly placing his hand on Hawkeye's arm. His touch glowed green for a moment and then the blue that was in the mortal's skin crept onto Loki's. The color began to withdraw from Hawkeye's body and The God of Michief's face turned deep blue. Several distinctive marks appeared on his forehead. Laura leaned back instinctively, looking at him in shock. The other's eyes all widened slightly.

Then Loki's face and body began faded back to a normal color. All that remained on Hawkeye's arm was a dark red burn and he had obviously lapsed in unconsciousness.

Laura leaned over him, mouth open as she looked at him in stunned disbelief. His breathing was deep and steady now.

Loki turned away in silence and the others let him go without saying a word. Thor didn't look any less shocked than the rest of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments!!!


	11. Weary Soul

Hawkeye had started coming around the evening of the battle, but he hadn't fully woken up until the next morning. Laura was next to him now, talking with him. The burn on his arm was a bad, second degree burn, but they'd given it some medical attention. Once he'd been able to sit up, his kids had swarmed him, the boys not trying to best each other for once.

Loki had been even more withdrawn after revealing more of himself than he preferred. Several of the Avengers seemed a little bit more wary, if not irritated, with him. Him and Thor had worked with Heimdall to transport the dead frost giants back to Jotunheim. The yard surrounding the house was horribly churned up. Not to mention the pile of ice and blood stained grass.

The warriors had made short work of introducing themselves, Sif and Hogun being the more serious of the bunch.

Volstagg and Fandral were quite enjoying themselves together. Tony got along very well.

"With your metal armor you're a very formidable opponent against the Jotuns." Volstagg said, twiddling his fingers at Tony "I've not found many mortals capable of such a feat."

"Have you...fought alongside many mortals?" Tony asked, hand moving questioningly "I'm not saying you're wrong, because most human beings wouldn't stand a chance." He paused for a small smirk.

"Not many." Fandral admitted, leaning back in his chair with one leg crossed above the other. He'd eyed Black Widow with apparent interest since he got there. She had given him returned flirtatiousness with ease, although for those who knew her, the sarcasm was clear.

For the first time that day, Loki came inside. He was following Thor back in, head held high, although he looked at no one.

"Loki." Hogun said with a slow nod at the former prince. Sif acknowledged him with the same gesture.

Loki's eyes flicked to them for a moment, but he continued to follow Thor without saying anything. Volstagg glanced at Fandral, who shrugged.

Hawkeye sat up and looked at the God of Mischief for a second. Clearly, Laura had informed him of the incident. Nathaniel was climbing on a kitchen chair to see his father, toes pointed eagerly.

"So I think we need to address the issue we're all are thinking about." Captain America said "If the Jotuns come back we need a better battle plan."

"Worked for me." Tony replied with a small shrug.

"We'll stay here until the problem is resolved." Sif told him evenly. Captain America glanced at her stoically.

"How did the Jotuns know exactly where to come?" he asked generally "Loki." he said, looking at the man steadily. The room seemed to tense as if they sensed Captain America was about to speak to what they had all seen. But the soldier didn't. "You mentioned the sceptor."

Loki returned the look, eyes prepared for an argument.

"My only theory is that whoever wants the sceptor is trying to dissipate any defenses on Earth. The Jotuns most likely saw a portal and enemies to fight, but had no power over where the portal opened." he said, tilting his head forward slightly, before looking away from the group.

"But who has the power to open portals?" Banner asked "That seems like a lot of...responsibility."

"Whoever they are, they can't be very good at it." Tony replied with a shrug "They can't keep it open for more than ten minutes."

"Well I'm sure it would be hard to create something to connect realms." Banner said, speaking only from common sense and not knowledge "At least I hope it is."  
"Unheard of, for the most part." Volstagg replied.

Even though the questions were asked broadly, they seemed to hope for an answer. Loki didn't offer one to them. Even though it has been blatantly obvious to the Asgardians that Loki was indeed a frost giant, some of the humans weren't quite sure. Either way, they'd been tiptoeing around the God of Michief all day.

"Is the portal completely closed?" Tony asked casually. He looked behind him "I mean, we're not going to turn around and have a while bunch of them waiting outside are we?"

"It's closed." Loki said.

"It would have to be closed, otherwise the frost giants would still be coming in. They only know one thing: attack." Volstagg told them.

Thor purposely didn't look at Loki, but either way his younger brother's face remained neutral at the comment.

\-------------‐----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It doesn't look too bad." Laura said, holding up her husband's arm to examine the burn.

"Well, it's healing a lot faster than I would expect." Hawkeye said, pulling the skin back slightly. For someone that had been in lethal danger just the evening before, he was certainly quite casual about the whole thing. He glanced towards where Loki had been a few moments previously "And I don't think that's because we treated it quickly."

"Whatever he is, I'm glad he was actually able to help you. No one else knew what to do." Laura said, leaning forward.

"What do you mean whatever he is? Immortal?" Hawkeye asked, almost with a laugh at his wife. His smiled faded when he saw that she was serious. They were interrupted by Volstagg's boistrous laugh. Him and Fandral were still in the same place.

"Hey...Fandral?" Hawkeye asked, head turned to side as he tried to remember the name. Fortunately, the pompous soldier turned to him, eyes expectant.

"Yes?"

"Uhh...so about Loki. Is he...?"

"Of Jotunheim?" Volstagg asked, answering for Fandral "Yes, he is. We didn't know about it until he left Asgard. Though he was always keeping secrets."

Captain America walked out of the kitchen, looking at the Asgardians. Tony looked on between them for a moment, waiting for someone else to speak.

"He did not know, Volstagg." Hogun told him. Volstagg shrugged as if he agreed with him.

"So...frost giants, right?" Laura asked. She hadn't been present for many of the conversations about the Jotuns, but the name had been used enough around her for her to know it "What are they exactly?"

"They're Asgard's main foe." Volstagg explained "We used to fight them a lot more, but they haven't been active in a while."

Fandral nodded "And they're bacically..." He paused as he thought.

"Monsters." Loki spoke by the stairs and they all glanced over at him. He took a few steps closer, book clasped in a hand by his side.

"They're a race of monsters." he said, eyes hard and as he looked at them "The worst of the worst. Beasts. Killing is something that comes completely natural to them." He paused for a moment "Now if you have any further questions about my origins, I ask that you would bring them to me."

Silently, he turned around to walk outside, opening his book on the way out.

Hawkeye pressed his lips together slightly, looking at Laura. The three Asgardians avoided each other's gazes for a moment.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Black Widow had informed Fury of the news, he had essentially told them to return to searching, although in much more words. And after a long discussion via Tony's large screen, they had persuaded Fury that sending any SHIELD agents to them wouldn't be of any help since Hawkeye had nearly been killed with a single touch.

Captain America and the others had a conference afterwards, excluding Loki and the other Asgardians. They were currently trying to decide how to go about tracking the portal. Out of everyone, Black Widow and Captain America were the most peeved.

"Something like that could happen in any major city." Black Widow said "Except we wouldn't be there because there would be no warning."

"Well I'll point out that we did do pretty well against the Chitari." Tony said.

"May I also point out that we had a warning." Black Widow replied "And besides, that portal could be closed. We don't even have an idea of where this could be at any given time."

"Well we're lucky they showed up here." Tony said. He paused "Which is also a coincidence, like we've said." he turned on his toe to look at Thor taking a deep breath. Now they could discuss it without Loki in the room.

"So really, how did they know right where to come?" He asked before shrugging "Actually, right where not to come. Unfortunate on their part."

"We don't know." Thor said "But Loki doesn't believe it was an accident."

"Doesn't he?" Tony asked, looking playfully surprised. He looked back at the others "That narrows him out of the equation."

"He warned us they were coming." Thor said "Without that, the results would not have been in our favor."

"And he did save Hawkeye." Banner said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other with his arms folded "But that could just be classic betrayal etiquette. You know, set up a threat, then save us from it to make himself seem more trustworthy."

"But he's not flaunting it." Tony said, pointing at him with a pen "I would be flaunting it."

"Really?" Banner asked, looking at the others "Well that's no surprise."

"I meant if I were him." Tony responded with a roll of his eyes.

"The more we treat Loki like he is a traitor, the higher the chance gets." Thor repeated this to them, lowering an arm definitively "Now, I agree we still need to keep watch like we have, but if we suspect him of each thing then we're never going to gain his full help. If we show faith we may be able to have him employ better methods."

"Or get played as fools." Captain America replied. He glanced over at Hawkeye, who had yet to speak "Barton? Do you have an opinion in any of this?"

Hawkeye took a deep breath "Well, I just don't think there was any reason for him to help me if he was already fighting to stop the frost giants." He put out his hands "I mean, he would already have helped save us from a threat, he didn't need to go further."

"There." Tony held out a hand to him "Common sense."

"That doesn't mean we should let our guard down." Hawkeye replied, looking at him "But personally right now, I'd rather have it been a different solution than simply banishing Loki from helping us."

"No one suggested that." Black Widow responded.

"I agree with Hawkeye." Captain America said, to everyone's surprise "Keep our guard up, but I don't suspect Loki of letting the frost giants in. Currently."

"I don't believe Loki had anything to do with it." Thor said, with the same steady low tone "He already mentioned that other beings want a path onto Earth. They are trying to remove defenses before they make a move."

There was silence for a moment before Tony spoke.

"Just so we're all aware, I am not flying back out into space to see who's behind this."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thor walked out to the warriors and Sif. They were standing by the guards stationed on the porch, talking.

"Ahhhh...Thor." Volstagg greeted him merrily "Finished up with your secret meeting?"

"It was not secret." Thor responded with a small chuckle.

"Private then." Volstagg reiterated ""But either way, I wasn't really that offended. You work with quite the solemn bunch."

"They are solemn now, but they aren't always like that." Thor replied.

"That seems to be the same for him." Fandral said, gesturing over at Loki, who was standing farther out in the field "You're quite liberal with his bounds."

"Heimdall is keeping watch." Thor responded.

"Prison didn't treat him well." Hogun observed.

"Yes, I haven't seen him so down before. Granted, he was always the quieter one. Until it came to practical jokes." Fandral added.

Thor stared after Loki and let out a deep breath "That's not all that's troubling him."

With that, he set his hammer down and stepped down off the porch to start walking across the field.

They all stared after him silently. Only when he was out of earshot did they speak.

Sif shook her head "Thor pities him."

"No he doesn't." Volstagg said with a bit of abruptness "He loves him. Thor still cares for his younger brother."

"Do you not?" Hogan asked, turning his head to look at him.

Volstagg sighed "I try not too." He looked after the God of Thunder "And right now I'm debating on whether Loki actually loves Thor."

"We shouldn't care for a traitor." Sif replied.

"Sif." Fandral said "Loki was our friend too. He saved our lives many times and we saved his. Surely you haven't forgotten that."

"He betrayed Asgard." Sif replied, with a bit of annoyance "And tried to kill us!"

The group was silent for a second as they remembered the horrible fight between them and the Destroyer.

"Loki always felt less than Thor." Hogun said, his voice calm and serious "You know he craved Odin's pride more than anything else. He said so himself."

"Odin never treated him as inferior to Thor." Sif said.

"I always thought it was obvious that Odin favored Thor." Fandral said with a small shrug "But Frigga spent more time with Loki."

"He was raised with the idea that he was merely second choice to be king." Hogan said.

Sif didn't reply after that, looking at the ground thoughtfully.

Volstagg glanced at her "We're not saying Loki doesn't deserve his punishment. After what he did on Earth, I would have imprisoned him too."

"They're coming back." Fandral said, warning him to stop the conversation.

Thor led the way with Loki following him, expression impressive. Instead of stopping to chat with the others, Thor intended to go right back into the house, but a loud rumble behind them stopped him in his tracks.

The Bifrost had landed another person on Earth. He stood erect and with fierce pride. The warriors all took a few steps forward and dropped to one knee, arm crossed against their chest.

Captain America appeared in the doorway, having heard the noise. Thor and Loki stared at Odin in surprise, mouths open. Thor then copied the other Asgardians in the respectful motion. Loki did the same after a few moment hesitation. He kept his eyes away from Odin even as they stood up.

The king of Asgard walked forward, Gungnir grasped in his left hand.

"Father." Thor said, walking towards him. Loki hung back by the house, chin raised a bit.

"Jotunheim has invaded Earth." Odin said, observing the still melting ice around them.

"A portal was opened for a time and they did attack." Thor replied, falling in step with his father as they walked towards the house.

"Father, why have you come here?" Thor asked. He was greatly worried that this meant Odin was having another unreasonable phase.

"I wish to have words with the protectors of Midgard." Odin responded.

Captain America and Tony both watched with a little bit of foreboding.

Odin nodded slightly at them as he passed. He didn't greet Loki at all. The king stopped in the living room, facing all of the Avengers. Loki and the other warriors came inside, all watching him expectantly.

"I am Odin, King of Asgard, Allfather of the nine realms." he said, surveying them.

"Well, welcome." Tony said, holding out his hands slightly.

"You have Asgard's thanks for defending this realm. Frost giants were never meant to come here again." Odin continued, only slightly acknowledging Tony's greeting.

"Thor." Odin said, looking at his eldest son "What do we know about this trespassing?"

Thor almost glanced at Loki, but decided it was best if he explained instead.

"The Jotuns are entering through portals created by another being. These portals change position, so we cannot find where they are until they are open."

"Are the Jotuns able to control the portals?" Odin asked "If so, this realm could be in very great danger."

"When they came, it did not appear that they could choose when it opened or closed. It closed before others had entered." Thor responded.

"Good." Odin replied. He looked at Captain America, assuming him to be the leader of the group.

"Does the rest of Midgard know about these invasions?" he asked.

Captain America hesitated a moment before speaking.

"No. We don't want to cause panic when we might be able to stop the attack before it happens." he said. Odin nodded, seeming to accept the answer.

"Thor, you mentioned that there are beings behind the opening of the portals. Why would they target Midgard of all places?" he asked, looking at the other Asgardians.

"This realm is by far the most vunerable." Volstagg said.

"Not anymore." Odin replied, shifting his staff.

"Then why are you here?" Captain America asked, tilting his head a bit.

Odin returned Captain America's look "As protector of the nine realms, it is my right to interfere. I came to find if you had found a way to prevent another attack like this from happening."

"There isn't a way." Loki said from behind him. The king turned around to look at his former son. The hidden Jotun looked back at him, holding his gaze boldly. Thor looked in between them.

"What do you mean there's not a way?" Odin asked "There has to be a way or the nine realms are finished."

"We cannot track where the portals are until they are already opening." Loki replied.

"You mean you can't." Odin said "Since no one else seems to be able to identify a pathway at all."

Loki said nothing in reply to that until Thor spoke.

"We believe that they want Loki's scepter." he said. Volstagg looked at the other warriors with a scowl.

"The one that remains on Earth?" Odin asked.

"It's not a weapon that should be taken lightly. Many beings would kill if necessary to get it." Loki said.

Odin turned fully to face him "Is that why it was left?"

Loki narrowed his eyes "I wouldn't exactly have been able to collect it."

Odin continued to look at him, eyes serious "That was not a denial."

"No." Loki replied.

"Loki, I can recall the first time Jotuns crossed realms boundaries unexplained." Odin went on "Heimdall couldn't see it then either."

"Couldn't he?" the former prince asked, although his voice was quiet "I'm sorry, that must have been a mistake on my part."

Odin tilted his head warningly.

"Do not let your wit be the cause for your return to Asgard. How can you expect us believe it is not you opening these portals to allow the frost giants in?" he asked "After all, you have done it before."

Loki waited in silence for a moment, gaze not wavering. Then he opened his mouth to respond, but the king spoke first.

"Do not deny that." he said. Thor winced. His father was a rational, calm man normally, but he'd become sharper at times after Frigga's passing. The God of Thunder had faced that several times these past months. 

Odin gave a small glare at his adopted son.

"Loki, you are a traitor and a prisoner of Asgard. Because of that, you should know you are beneath any of the mortals here. You renounced your right to your place and status a long time ago." Odin said, his voice unexpectedly cold. He looked at Thor momentarily before returning his burning gaze back to Loki "I do not want to hear from you that these attacks cannot be prevented. Rest assured, any attack can and will be, with or without you. We have done as well without your skills at this point. You know as well as I do that the only reason you are alive is because of Frigga. She was rewarded for her charity by her own untimely death. As our law declares, you SHOULD have died for your crimes, but were saved by the queen who was then killed protecting her kingdom. The man she welcomed as her own son couldn't even be there to defend her like he should have been. It is fitting to say that your life is now a disgrace to hers." Odin's words were filled with bitterness and grief disguised as anger "Loki- Laufey's son-you had better learn to be lonely because I intend to carry out what Frigga wished."

Thor pulled his head back, shocked at the name that had just been used.

"She permitted you the comfort of a prince, but I feel this should not be continued. Clearly, it has maintained your arrogant and foolish character." Odin growled. 

"Father, not now." Thor interrupted, knowing this could very well bring chastisement upon himself. But he didn't want Odin to spit out punishments while he was like this. The words seemed to bring the king out of his anger and back to reality. The staff moved in his hand slightly and the heat still rested in his eyes.

Loki stared at his adopted father, having not moved an inch. His face was hard, as if immune to the harsh words, but if one took a deeper look, his eyes showed differently. Everyone else in the room was silent, eyes lowered to the ground or on one another. It seemed to stretch out for several minutes.

"Thor, come with me." Odin said, picking up Gungnir.

Thor glanced at Loki for a second, but his brother was looking down now, lips pursed slightly. He hadn't defended himself. After a moment, the God of Thunder followed his father outside.

Loki remained where he stood and silence hung in the room until it was broken by Sif.

"You're Laufey's son?" she asked breathily, eyes slightly wide.

Loki glanced swiftly at her, face enraged. Each one of the warriors were looking at him with a look of horror on their faces. After a moment, without saying anything, he turned to walk out of the room.

"Who is Laufey?" Captain America asked, watching him leave.

Sif waited until Loki was gone before replying.

"He was the king of Jotunheim."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The warriors knew Odin's outburst was due to his grief for the lost queen, but they had yet to see him lash out quite so darkly. Thor on the other hand, had been dealing with this since Frigga's death. It occurred less now, luckily. But Thor had no way of explaining any of that to Loki.

After the king and Prince had spoken, Odin had returned to Asgard. It still wasn't clear why he'd come to speak with them. Most likely because in the past, Asgard had been the one to defend Earth from the Jotuns, but now that the Avengers here, it was no longer the case. But that was unlike Odin in many respects.

The lighthearted mood of the warriors had vanished and there was a sober atmosphere among them all. Volstagg and Fandral were both very quiet for them, seeming to be thinking about something. Laura had listened to the whole thing from upstairs and had only come down a little while ago to get the general opinion about dinner. Eventually, she had decided to make it for the solemn group. Even Tony seemed to be rather taken aback. The God of Michief had gone outside earlier and had yet to come back in again.

Even as it got later into the night, Loki stayed outside. Thor watched him from the porch, face grieved. A few of the others looked out every so often as well, but not to check that he was still there. The Jotun stood near a crackling fire, facing the trees beyond, as unmoving as ever.

Loki fingered a healing scratch on his hand absentmindedly. Behind him were the lit up windows from the house, but if he just looked forward and listened to the fire, it was almost as if he were back in Asgard, staring off his balcony. Creatures flew above the treetops, wings fluttering so wildly they could have only been bats. The stars were slightly brighter tonight than they had been the previous, having been cleared of any clouds. Loki could see his breath when he exhaled.

The moon was reaching its fullest point, although it still had several days to go. It didn't offer much light for the forest ahead, which was pitch black.

He could hear someone approaching long before they got close. He glanced back, eyebrows going up a little bit.

Laura walked forward, a plate of food in her hand.

"I brought you this." she said, her voice a tiny bit uneasy "In case you wanted something."

Loki just have her a small nod and resumed his watch. Laura set it down on a log next to the fire and hesitated a moment before speaking again.

"I'm sorry about what he said to you." she said, eyes reflecting the flame of the fire. She rubbed her hand uncomfortably. Loki looked back as she continued.

"I don't think a father should ever speak that way to his son. You're still family. No matter what's happened."

Loki's eyes flicked away briefly before he focused on her again.

"Thank you. Laura." he replied evenly.

She nodded at him, eyes a tiny bit watery, surprisingly. He turned back to the wall of darkness without another word.

As she walked back to the house, the other warriors had joined Thor on the porch. Even Sif, whose heart was usually as hard as her face, seemed to realize that she couldn't turn her cheek away this time. For the first time, Loki just seemed sad.

"Odin didn't really mean it." Volstagg said, quietly "At least, most of it."

Thor didn't know what to say in reply, so he didn't do anything but look over at his friends.

When he turned his gaze back to his brother, there was now another figure standing beside him. Thor's brow furrowed and he took a few steps closer. It was a woman, white and transparent. One that he recognized. Tenderly, it appeared to be stroking Loki's hair with a light hand.

Thor took in a deep breath and swallowed. He didn't know whether his younger brother was aware of their mother's presence, but if he was, he gave no sign of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kind comments :)


	12. Repercussions

Since the attack, both of Hawkeye's sons had mostly stayed inside. Unfortunately, because of that, they were getting a bad case of cabin fever. Instead of encouraging them to be outside, Laura decided to deal with it and entertain them inside. After all, unless Loki was out there, they would have no way of knowing if the frost giants would suddenly appear.

Nathaniel was currently trying to provoke Lila into arguing with him. She was coloring at the kitchen counter, a deep scowl on her face as she tried her best to ignore the boy. Laura had already scolded him several times.

"He's just following his father's example." Tony said.

"Yes, my name is Tony Stark and I'm constantly trying to annoy people." Hawkeye replied "Oh, wait."

"You pronounced Steve Rogers wrong." Tony replied matter of factly.

"What?" Captain America asked, looking over. He clearly hadn't been listening to the rest of the conversation.

"You two must be getting _very_ bored." Black Widow said with an amused roll of her eyes as she collected her gun to put into her holster. It was as cheerful as the group got right now.

They were heading back out now that Loki had demonstrated that he actually could tell them where a portal was forming. It was now just a matter of being able to place a bit of trust in him.

"I can put them to work." Laura replied.

"You might have to, before they go ballistic." Black Widow said, "Luckily we're getting out of the house today."

"We were out yesterday. It didn't really seem to improve much of the situation." Hawkeye said, holding up his injured arm pointedly.

"Turns out that Thor was right about humans not fighting frost giants." Tony said, gesturing vaguely over at him. Then he looked over at the door, as if suddenly worried that someone was there.

"And, uhhh...am I right that thinking being the son of the king inherently makes you king if he dies? Or is that only in our weird Earthly customs?" he asked.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's the same everywhere." Captain America said, "Which means he's the king of Jotunheim."

"It didn't look like it from the way he slaughtered those frost giants." Tony replied.

"Maybe he didn't know?" Hawkeye ventured.

"No, he knew." Captain America said "Don't you remember Thor saying that Loki was adopted?

And that there was no _sitting_ king of Jotunheim."

"So, if he's king..." Black Widow said. She raised her eyebrows at the group

"You heard those frost giants. They had no idea who he was besides the fact that he was an Asgardian." Captain America replied.

"So, him calling off the attack is probably not an option?" Tony asked. He snapped his fingers in mock disappointment without waiting for an answer.

"We might want to bring it up." Captain America pointed out "Just in case."

A few minutes after the subject had passed, Thor walked back inside. Black Widow glanced back and pushed off the table to turn and face him.

"When shall we depart?" he asked, "Two of my friends will remain here to defend the house from any frost giants should they appear."

"Thanks." Hawkeye said from where he was leaning against the wall.

"I think we should leave now." Captain America told him, walking over to the couch that his shield rested on "Get a little longer in daylight."

Tony rolled his eyes a little bit, but he was the first to start walking towards the door. Him and Hawkeye were the first ones out. Loki was on the porch, facing the field. Tony scowled a little bit when he saw him.

The God of Mischief had his eyes closed and was completely still. Unnaturally still.

"Loki?" he asked, but the God didn't acknowledge him in any way. Captain America frowned when he saw and took a few more steps toward him when Thor came out the door. He looked confused as to why all the attention was on Loki. He looked at his younger brother before also noticing the stillness. The others may have suspected something, but Thor knew of Loki's tricks better than any of them. He immediately walked over and reached out a hand, expecting to go right through and confirm his suspicions that it was an illusion and Loki was no longer there.

To his surprise, he touched his brother, rather hard because he hadn't expected to hit something solid.

Loki's eyes opened, wider than usual as turned sharply. A familiar light withdrew from his gaze. He looked at Thor with a bewildered scowl.

"What?" he asked in irritation.

"Sorry." Thor said, still looking his brother up and down. Not an illusion, but some sort of a trance. Thor blinked, a thought coming to his mind, one that lined up with the light he'd seen remaining. And that would agree with what he'd seen last night.

"Were you speaking to mother?"

Loki's eyes narrowed briefly as he passed him.

"Well, I wasn't escaping if that's what you really want to know. Why? Would you be jealous if I were?" He stepped over a few of Nathaniel's toys on his way towards the stairs. He assumed they must be leaving since his older brother had roused him from his spell.

Thor watched him go for a moment in silence before slowly walking out after him. The God of Mischief was already down the steps.

"Loki." he stopped the Jotun in his tracks. He paused for several seconds as he walked down to him. He placed a hand on Loki's shoulder softly from behind, making him tense.

"You know father did not mean what he said." Thor said quietly.

Loki didn't reply for the same amount of time before he turned slightly.

"Thor. As lying is not your strong suit, I suggest you stick to your hammer." he said, voice forcefully steady.

"That isn't a lie, Loki." Thor said with angry indignance. He was rather surprised at the retort, but he told himself it should have been expected.

"No?" Loki turned fully to face him, fists clenched a little as Thor pulled back his extended arm and looked at his younger brother "You and I both know that everything said in there was the truth." his voice got more intense until he half spat the words "Right down to my born father's name." his eyes narrowed into a glare "So please, don't try and cover for him by telling me he didn't mean it."

The warriors, having heard the rising tones, came closer in from the forest, eyes on the two Asgardians.

"Loki, father has been blinded by grief since mother died." Thor responded, trying not sound frustrated. He'd been rehearsing what to say out of sympathy, not anger, but it was hard to contain it. He realized that he too had faced Odin's irrational side. When he was being banished. He didn't cherish the memory.

"That would be a surprise. I didn't realize he actually cared for other people." Loki said, ignoring the people listening.

"Loki, enough of your mockery. Odin is king. He cannot give you preferential treatment." Thor replied angrily.

"No, of course not, because I'm just the frost giant son." Loki said, leaning forward a bit with his words "Heaven forbid he ever forget that."

"That isn't what I meant." Thor responded.

"But, of course, if the great Thor should start a war with the Jotuns, let's all find a way to help him back from banishment anyway that we can." Loki continued, flicking his hands "After all, he's first born, heir to the throne, we couldn't lose him."

"You never could forgive me for that." Thor said, looking at his brother soberly "Loki, we were always equal. You should know that. I never meant to make you feel less than me."

"I think you did." Loki replied quietly, nodding "But you didn't have to. Odin did better than the both of us put together."

"He loved you." Thor said, "He always loved you. If you can't see that-"

"Maybe as a trophy. A tool. He never loved me as a son." Loki spat.

"You didn't see him grieve when he thought he'd lost you!" Thor snapped, clenching his hammer tightly, teeth pressed together. The tears his father had spilled with their mother were uncountable.

"Oh, but we know it would have been much worse had he lost you instead." Loki refuted immediately, his voice bitter.

"You don't know that's true." Sif said sharply from behind them.

"Don't I, Sif?" Loki asked, turning sharply to look at her "After all, it's the same with you. With all of you. It always was."

"No it wasn't." Volstagg spoke up with a scowl "Loki, you were just as much our friend as Thor was. You had no need to feel that way."

"Then you're as blind as Odin." Loki responded, hatefully. Volstagg blinked in confused annoyance.

"The idea that you were excluded was all in your head, my friend." Fandral said, his voice less harsh "We all followed Thor because..." He trailed off, realizing his mistake with a curse in his mind.

"Because he was first born. And always _destined_to be your King." Loki hissed savagely "Can any of you deny that Odin told Thor that? That he spent more of his time with Thor? No. So don't try to pretend that everything was always equal. Or that you were ever truly my friends. That's the weakest lie of all."

"Loki, how can you say that? You're the blind one!" Volstagg said incredulously "Have you forgotten our time spent together? I trusted you with my life! We would have died for you!"

It was all coming out now. The jealousy, the hatred, everything he'd ever felt slighted in, because Loki's eyes blazed similarly to Odin's the night before. Several of the other Avengers drew nearer to the conflict warily, hearing the true reason behind The God of Mischief's resentment to Thor. They'd all witnessed it firsthand with the Allfather the night before.

"You've never been able to accept that you were loved." Thor said, voice low and hard "Especially not after you found out what you were. That destroyed you."

"You weren't raised to hate what you are!" Loki snarled "Odin only brought me back to become Jotunheim's king. The king of monsters."

"If that was the case, you and I would never have been brothers." Thor replied, raising his hammer "You would have spent your life separate from everyone else. Mother raised you like she raised me."

"And she's dead, Thor!" Loki half shouted at him, trembling with anger as his eyes filled with tears of hatred. This was the first time Thor saw it. He'd known it all along but had never quite realized the depth that his younger brother grieved for their mother. Such raw grief in those trembling hands.

"You know who came to tell me?" Loki asked, staring him down as a furious tear slid down his cheek "Tell me that she was dead? Not Odin. Not you. A guard. A damn guard. You and Odin couldn't even face me _yourselves_."

"We had enough to grieve without seeing you." Thor replied angrily, taking a few steps forward.

"Odin doesn't grieve for me." Loki hissed "But I know one thing he said was true for sure. I wasn't where I should have been. I should have been with her, because apparently you and Odin were too _weak_ to save her!"

"You were no help from your cell. No one could have possibly saved her." Thor snarled. It was a sore spot to prod and combined with mourning, the God's temper flared quickly.

"I could have." Loki replied, glaring "And I would have, I promise you that."

Thor threw his hammer furiously, sending it into the woods. It smashed into several trees before returning harshly to its master's hands, where it waited threateningly. Clouds were starting to form in the sky and thunder could be heard not far off.

"For Valhalla's sake, stop." Volstagg said, walking towards them.

"How dare you tell me that!" Thor yelled at his younger brother "You betrayed her, Loki, not me!"

"You did exactly the same thing as I did, except with the Jotuns. Killed hundreds more than I did here." Loki spat "Which only furthers the point that they have no value in Odin's eyes. The blood in my veins will never be enough."

"I learned from my mistakes, Loki." Thor said sharply "You didn't."

"How could I?" Loki asked, spreading his hands "I was never given the chance. All you and father will ever see is a _frost giant_."

"I never did!" Thor thrust his hammer forward, this time right at Loki. He was blind to the fact that his brother had finally, and mistakenly, called Odin his father. Fortunately, or unfortunately, The God of Mischief was well prepared for Thor's attack and already gone.

"Thor! Thor don't!" Fandral exclaimed, hurrying over. Sif and Hogun followed him.

Loki reappeared behind his older brother, knife out as he took a vicious swipe. Thor stumbled forward, hand out to summon his hammer back as he spun around. Loki walked towards him, face dark, with both daggers in his hand. Thor let out what could only be described as a human growl as he swung Mjolnir at him. The Jotun easily evaded his swing, ducking around it and kicking Thor away.

"We need to stop them." Captain America said, looking at the other warriors. Noticeably, he said 'them' and not just Loki. After all, Thor was on the offensive at the moment.

"You want me to shoot?" Hawkeye asked plaintively, bow hanging at his side.

"Who?" Tony asked, looking at him "We need both of them."

"I don't plan on killing either of them." Hawkeye responded. It would take more than an arrow anyway.

Thor's hammer skimmed the ground, sending pieces flying into the air. He threw it, again finding that it went straight through an illusion. This time, however, Thor called it back much sooner and the hammer came back, striking the real Loki on the shoulder. It knocked him stumbly forward.

As Thor ran towards him, Loki looked up swiftly. Pieces of dirt from where Mjolnir had scraped flew into the air, lifted by an unseen wind current. Thor yelled as they flew into his eyes.

"Fandral, Hogun, you stop Loki." Volstagg said "Sif, help me with Thor."

"How exactly do we do that?" Fandral asked, looking at the battle "He's all over the place."

"Find him and stop him." Volstagg growled.

"What if Loki tries to escape?" Sif asked intensely.

"Loki isn't leaving. He didn't start the fight." Volstagg replied.

"He provoked Thor." Sif snapped back.

There was a bright green flash as magic defended a strike from Thor. The God of Thunder was thrown off his feet as Loki knocked them from under him.

"Alright." Tony said, backing up "I'm going in."

"No, wait." Captain America said, "Let them try and stop it first."

"Well somebody better do something before they kill each other." Tony replied, one hand on the door frame. Him and Captain America switched between the rational and irrational leaders rather often.

Loki maneuvered a bit too swiftly for Thor, although obviously Thor had the upper hand in brute strength. Even so, Loki held off Mjolnir between his daggers, pressing back against Thor. His power was sometimes surprising for his size. The knife made a long, clean cut on his older brother's lower arm as Loki twisted away and Thor grunted loudly. Loki immediately whirled back around, knifes ready in his hands.

The warriors ran towards the two of them since they had moved a way off, but suddenly rain began pouring down on them, created by Thor himself. Thunder cracked in the sky and lightening flashed.

"Good God." Tony said.

The hammer sung as it flew through the air, rain drops shattering on it. Loki ducked out of the way, cutting it a little close even for him. Smoke appeared out of nowhere, hiding both him and Thor's position.

Even though it mostly meant to give Loki the advantage over Thor, it prevented the others from making much progress. Volstagg waved at it angrily, but it was too thick.

"Guys, Loki could easily slip away under all of this." Black Widow called over the storm. She has both guns pointed out towards the hidden fight "Then we'll have a whole new problem."

As the smoke dissipated a little, Thor's hammer finally hit Loki straight on, sending him flying back into one of the trees. It cracked under the force, collapsing backwards with a crash. Thor walked forward, and a blade suddenly flew out, catching him in the shoulder. He yelled out, hand reaching to it and yanking it out. Blood stained the edge.

Loki ran at him, leaping in the air and plunging both feet into his older brother's chest. He rolled the rest of the way before getting to his feet. Thor called his hammer back, raising it angrily.

A bang louder than any thunder shook the air suddenly and a flash of white light blinded them for a moment. Loki and Thor were thrown back, nothing landing flat on their backs. The smoke cleared, and the clouds withdrew a bit.

In the midst stood Odin, head held high with his staff grasped in his hand.

Thor and Loki both stopped, separated by the king. They were breathing heavily, chests heaving and eyes still glaring hate for each other as they looked up at him.

"That's enough!" Odin said angrily. His voice was far too loud and strong for the king's elderly appearance. He looked in between them for a moment before settling on Thor "I'll not have my sons fighting while Earth is under attack by Jotunheim." he looked back at Loki, eyes burning "Either of you! We can't have you wasting yourselves on each other while this world suffers."

Loki looked back at him, eyes narrowed as he took deep breaths. Thor finally looked at the ground, the anger in his eyes less intense now. Replaced by shame.

"Now forget your anger and stop this nonsense." Odin continued, eyes shifting back to his eldest "You have a job to do. Now go do it."

Thor's eyes flicked over to Loki, whose chin was raised with a bit of defiance still. Volstagg and the others backed off slightly. Black Widow lowered her guns back to her side as silence filled the air.

Loki was the first one to move. He got up and stepped a little bit closer to Odin, eyes still narrowed.

"Of course." he said coldly "King."

He walked away from them, limping ever so slightly on his left leg. He wiped blood from his face and flung it to the side. Odin stared after him, his uncovered eye back to the calm and reserved man he used to be. Even so, something sparked in his gaze, but he obviously decided not to act on it.

Thor's arm was bleeding from the cut Loki had inflicted and there was a red welt rising on his jaw. And of course, the puncture wound in his shoulder. No telling how bad it would have gotten if they had continued their battle.

"You started the fight." Odin said to Thor without looking at him.

The God of Thunder didn't reply for a moment because it wasn't a question but a statement.

"He spoke to the fact that mother died under my watch." he said finally, voice shaking a bit.

"Frigga died to save Asgard. I don't want you to be tainted by the fact that you couldn't save her." Odin responded.

It was the exact opposite of what he had told Loki the previous day. Of course, he seemed to have cleared his mind and he WAS talking to Thor instead.

"I shouldn't have done it." Thor said, letting his hammer hit the ground in disgust. He stared after his younger brother and let a loud frustrated sigh.

"Once again, my son, I remind you of the many lessons I taught you. Mjolnir is not a tool for your temper." Odin replied, following Thor's gaze.

Hawkeye blinked and then glanced at the other Avengers around him. Even though the king's word were wise, it did seem mildly hypocritical.

* * *

Thor followed his father off the path and deeper into the forest. Once it was clear that Loki wasn't going anywhere, Odin had asked Thor to walk with him.

"Should I not return him to Asgard now?" The king asked, planting his staff into the dirt. Thor blinked for a moment before letting out a deep breath.

"Father, Loki does grieve for mother. Deeply. He was not able to attend the conjoined mourning when we were able to send her to Valhalla."

"He is a prisoner. I can't grant such rights." Odin replied pointedly "I cannot lighten his sentence, Thor, the council would not allow it. Nor would it be safe. Besides, you just tried to send Mjolnir after him, why would you defend him now?"

When Thor failed to reply, Odin looked ahead of them.

"You still view him as your brother. Even if you say you do not."

"He always felt slighted, father. Ever since we were children." Thor said, his voice pained a little "Tell me honestly, did you view him as less than me? Loki is more perceptive than many think."

Odin fell silent for several moments before looking down at the ground and hanging on his staff slightly. Frigga had told him the same thing many times.

"No." he said.

"We would not have gotten away as unharmed as we were if Loki hadn't warned us of the Jotun attack." Thor replied.

"You do not have to defend him to me." Odin responded.

"Father, I know what he has done. I do not mean to draw away from that. I know that I will never have the same trust in him. But he has acted more like the brother I knew than he has in a long time even if he does not speak to me as such. He saved the life of one of my friends."

"I am aware." Odin responded.

"Perhaps there is some part of him that wants redemption."

"What Loki wants is revenge. Redemption would be impossible." Odin replied, "Even if he did desire it."

"You spoke very harshly to him." Thor said back rather boldly "He believes all we see is a frost giant. And what you said didn't help!"

It was surprising that Odin didn't chastise him back, seeing as how Thor had just basically pushed his and Loki's mending relationship back to square one.

"He is not a lost cause. I see that now." Thor responded "And mother did too. I believe...I believe he is communicating with her."

Odin looked at him "You cannot communicate with the dead, Thor."

As his son opened his mouth to object, the king interrupted.

"That is not to say he is not trying." he said "Loki is talented, yes, but there is not a way to speak with the dead. He may seek her, but he will not find her."

"I believe he has." Thor replied simply "I..." he paused, eyes a little puzzled "I saw mother. Father, I saw her the night after you chastised Loki. She was with him."

Odin regarded him seriously "Are you sure this was not an illusion?"

"Yes. She was white and transparent, and Loki did not acknowledge her."

Odin looked down, apparently troubled by this news. He muttered something under his breath.

"What?" Thor asked intensely.

"The walls between us and the dead are weakened." Odin responded, "Much like the walls between our realms now." he returned his eyes to Thor "That does not mean he can speak with her, but it would explain what you saw."

"She came to him. That must mean she still believes in him." Thor said.

Odin sighed "Frigga has a gentle heart. That means nothing for Loki."

"Father, if you could see him here, you may not think of him so."

"You are not to place trust in him. Loki would do anything to secure his freedom." Odin countered.

"He would be gone if that were the case." Thor responded.

"He is a master at deceiving." Odin said, echoing Black Window's words.

"You're speaking as a king." Thor replied, low voice insistent "You called him your son. Speak as his father."

"Thor, you have grown a very forgiving heart, much like Frigga." Odin said, turning to his son with a tender face "But, I _must_ speak as King. When you rule Asgard, you will come to realize that as well."

"I do not think I can be king if that is what is required." Thor responded, "I could not tell Loki he has to spend his life in prison."

"You couldn't currently because you are blinded by being with him now. You could have when he returned from Earth." Odin said "That is why the punishment follows quickly after the crime. He is not the son I raised. He is the son of Laufey."

"Do you not love him still?" Thor asked, almost willing him say yes. Even he did not quite understand the reasoning behind his defense of Loki.

"He is a traitor. That is as far as my emotions must extend." Odin replied.

"No, it's not. If not as a father, as a king, extend mercy. You do not have to release him." Thor said "But Loki has the capability to become a protector of Asgard again. He sees Earth as beneath him, but he defended it as fiercely as I did when the Jotuns came."

"Thor. I already told you that you do not have to defend him to me. But I cannot, and I_ will not_." he paused looking at Thor seriously "Lighten his sentence. I'm sorry, my son. He has acted on darkness rather than light."


	13. Newcomer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like there's a certain someone who everyone thought was dead and ended up not being dead in Infinity War and I don't like the way they handled it. So yeah. Please enjoy!!

Being from Asgard and Jotunheim, Thor and Loki healed much faster than ordinary humans. Loki only had a thin cut on the side of his face and Thor's arm was already scabbed over. It now resembled the burn on Hawkeye's arm.

The next morning, they had left early, leaving Hogun and Fandral behind with Laura and the kids. Loki had avoided speaking to Thor like the plague. He didn't necessarily seem angry, perhaps bitter or just sad and if not sad, then resigned. 

By the evening time, the group had reached a stalemate. They couldn't just sit here and wait, but they couldn't search the whole world either. And it wasn't as if it was of much use unless they were in the right place at the right time. At least this had been Hawkeye's point of frustration.

The subject had come up about sending word out to the public, but Captain America and Hawkeye had shut it down immediately. There was nothing worse than mass panic. That would only make it harder for them to do their job. If it could be called a job.

Thor went to speak to Loki several times, but he never followed through. The Jotun's cold demeanor wasn't helping. Loki knew that the Avengers were uneasy partially because, technically, he was the king of the monsters attacking them. They blamed him subconsciously, not entirely aware of it themselves, because he wasn't doing anything about it. It was unlikely these thoughts had actually been connected in anyone's mind, but Loki connected it himself. Being a frost giant just qualified a person for being hated in this universe. Or so he believed.

Fortunately, Hawkeye's children had no such prejudices. Especially since Loki had saved their father.

All of them were inside the house right now, including Loki. There weren't any guards outside the house at the moment, so the God of Mischief was lingering closer. Thor hadn't asked him to do so, but it seemed the best way to avoid any conflict.

To try and lighten the dim mood, Volstagg had brought some Asgardian liquor down. Mead. Although so far the only ones actually drinking it were him, Fandral, Hogun, and Thor.

"How old would you wage this stuff is?" Tony asked, tapping on a bottle.

"Older than you." Volstagg replied with a hearty laugh. Loki rolled his eyes ever so slightly, but he didn't take his eyes off his book.

Tony grabbed a glass and held it out. Fandral's eyebrows went up and him and Volstagg glanced at each other.

"It's not like your drinks here." Thor said simply.

"I know. That's exactly why I want to try it." Tony replied "Don't need to be much, just a titch."

Volstagg shrugged and picked up the bottle. He poured about a third of the glass, which must have been well above the expectation because Tony eyed it. Captain America scowled slightly.

"Here goes nothing." Tony said and took a nice big sip.

Everyone was watching him and it wasn't long before Tony's eyes widened a bit and he started coughing.

"Alright, yep, I'm in." Hawkeye said, sliding over a glass.

"Well let's at least try to avoid getting drunk." Captain America said, sitting down.

Tony breathed out loudly "Wow, that's got a kick to it."

"I wouldn't have much more." Fandral said, pointing a finger at him casually "It's not meant for mortals."

Thor laughed, taking another large drink.

"We've got a stalker." Black Widow said, nodding over to the living room.

Cooper had appeared there, sword in hand. He was indeed trying to sneak up behind Loki, who was faced completely away from him.

"Ten bucks says he hits him." Black Widow said quietly.

"No way." Tony shook his head "That guy pops in and out so fast you don't even remember he's there."

Cooper was about two feet from him now. He took one more step and raised the sword Loki had given him, face exhilarated that he might finally be able to do it. He swung it and suddenly the weapon vanished in midair.

Cooper fell forward, propelled by his momentum. Loki turned around slowly, looking down at him with raised eyebrows.

"Looking for this?" he asked, holding up the long sword.

Cooper's mouth opened indignantly.

"How did you know I was coming? We hadn't even been fighting!" he protested.

"Because you're loud." Loki responded, handing the sword back to him.

"I didn't make any sound." Cooper said, stepping back as The God of Mischief passed him.

"That's a matter of opinion." Loki replied.

"What?" Cooper asked in confusion.

Loki didn't reply to him.

Nathaniel was at the bottom of the stairs, looking disappointed. He jumped off the last steps and went over to his older brother. He had on footie pajamas with little rockets all over him.

Hawkeye motioned them over to him. As they approached, he raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for bed?"

Cooper gestured at the window in exasperation "It's still light out!"

"Yes, but you wake up at the crack of dawn." Hawkeye replied "Go back upstairs to your mother."

"She's with Lila." Cooper responded "She hasn't even noticed we're gone."

"Then you'd better get back before she does." Hawkeye said pointedly.

"Can we _please_ stay up?" Cooper appealed "You're never here and when you are we're always asleep."

Hawkeye looked at him and seemed to let out a mental sigh. After a second, he rolled his eyes slightly.

"Alright, you can stay up for another hour."

Both boys let out a sound of triumph and turned back around.

"But hey, go get Lila so she can be out here too." Hawkeye requested.

"I'll get her." Nathaniel said immediately, running over to the stairs. Cooper followed him, not to be outdone by his younger brother. He pushed him to the side slightly as they raced for the stairs and Nathaniel protested lightly.

"How often do you come back to see them?" Captain America asked, fiddling with his glass.

"You mean when does SHIELD not need me?" Hawkeye asked "Honestly, never, but I take time off anyway every once in a while."

"Well, we can drink to that." Tony said, gesturing at his glass "Take a sip."

Hawkeye raised his glass and took a bit smaller drink than Tony. Unsurprisingly, he had the same reaction, except his eyes began to water just a little bit towards the end. Volstagg laughed again.

The thought to invite Loki over undoubtably entered everyone's minds at least once, but it never came to pass. Loki seemed to prefer his distance from them and more particularly since the fight between him and Thor.

"How can you guys drink that stuff?" Hawkeye asked, pushing the rest of his glass away.

"It's only the best." Fandral replied.

"I would keep the drinking sensible, boys." Sif said with a little bit of annoyed amusement.

"Boys are we?" Volstagg asked.

"Have a drink?" Fandral offered her.

Sif rolled her eyes slightly and he poured her one. He didn't need her consent to know she did.

Tony took another sip and still coughed "Alright Rogers, your turn." he seemed to shake a finger at the bottle "That stuff is potent as hell."

"Well, your words are starting to slur so I don't think I should." Captain America said.

"You're not quite human though." Hawkeye said.

"Human?" Captain America asked, giving him a look "I think I'm more human than all of you put together."

"Wow." Black Widow said, tilting her head "That was cocky.

"What about you?" Tony asked, looking at Banner.

The man winced, glancing down at the bottle "Yeah, sorry, alcohol and emotions don't mix too well together."

"I thought that was the point." Tony said, spreading his hands.

All three children came running down the stairs as Banner looked at Tony, unable to come up with a response. He finally just kind of blinked and looked away.

"Loki?" Thor asked, looking over at his younger brother. It was the first time either of them had addressed each other since the fight. He stood up and walked closer to him "Join us for a drink."

Loki lifted his head, eyes stoic. The others all glanced in his direction and no one objected, even by facial expression.

"No. I'll pass." Loki replied, looking back down.

Thor didn't really have a response to that, but he didn't need one because Cooper and Nathaniel walked over to them.

"Can we play with your hammer?" Nathaniel asked eagerly, eyes wide with anticipation. A few of the warriors snickered quietly as not to be overheard by the child. Thor frowned slightly.

"No." he responded, his answer sounding a tiny bit like a question itself.

Nathaniel looked down in disappointment and a embarrassment. Cooper gestured at him for them to go outside with a waved of his hands.  
As they left, Loki scowled over at The God of Thunder.

"What?" Thor asked, sounding a bit surprised at his look.

"Do you remember when you used to be the nice brother?" Loki asked in irritation "It was like five seconds ago. It used to be me, then you took over for the last little while and you just transferred it right back."

"Well they _can't_ play with it." Thor replied forcefully, clearly just stating a fact.

"They weren't asking if it were possible to play with it, they were asking if they _might_ play with it." Loki said, stressing certain parts of the sentence in emphasis as he moved his hand with the words "For someone who has spent a lot more time around mortals than I have, you certainly know nothing about them."

Thor pressed his lips together angrily, eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Loki.

"And suddenly your moral compass points up?"

"It doesn't have to just for me to see that you were not very kind." Loki said pointedly "I mean, I guess it's not surprising considering you couldn't even keep a mortal woman at your side, which should have been easy considering you're a God."

"You're one to talk seeing as you've never courted a woman in your life." Thor replied in annoyance, clearly surprised and stung at his words.

"Fair enough." Loki conceded, spreading his hands and staring at him stoically. Then he looked back down at his book without another word.

Thor stared at him with a deep scowl on his face as if unsatisfied with the way the conversation had ended. He finally looked away, arms folded. Then, after a few more seconds he dropped his arms, turned and walked towards the door after the children. Loki's eyes surreptitiously followed him and he didn't have to say anything for the others to know what he was thinking.

"He's humbled more than you know." Sif said, regarding Loki pointedly.

The God of Mischief's eyes flicked up at her, but he didn't reply to her. Sif continued to stare, clearly peeved by his silence. She took it for disbelief.

* * *

They weren't sure what Thor had done out there, but one could only assume he went to apologize. Either way, when he came back in, he gave Loki a look before going back over to the others. The younger brother didn't seem to notice, or care. The two boys were still outside, while Lila remained beside her father, climbing on and off his lap.

Laura had come down and to everyone's surprise she didn't scold her husband for being a bit more lenient with the children. She looked at the Asgardian mead bottle with raised eyebrows, having already heard a bit of Tony's slur. Even though Captain America's reaction hadn't been any different to the liquor, he didn't appear to be suffering the side effects.

While it appeared they were celebrating, they truly had nothing to be celebrating about right now. They were more self-medicating than anything. Responsibly of course.

"That stuff really is disgusting." Hawkeye said, seeming to think back on his experience.

"Were you Asgardian, you would not think so." Volstagg replied with a smile.

Nathaniel and Cooper both came stomping back into the house, although by now it was background noise to everyone. Loki still stared down at his book, turning the pages every few minutes.

Nathaniel glanced furvitively around, as if ready to divulge a secret. Then he walked over towards Thor's hammer, which rested in the family room on the floor. He went over to it and pulled on it lightly, as not to attract attention.

Volstagg and Fandral both chuckled, having noticed it first. Thor then glanced back with raised eyebrows.

It captured Loki's focus too, because after a moment and once Nathaniel began straining, he walked over. He deftly touched his shoulder.

"Better men have tried." he said, his voice rather hushed.

"You can help me." Nathaniel admonished.

Loki let out a breath halfway between annoyance and amusement.

"I can't. It won't help."

Nathaniel stopped and looked up at him with a very irritated child scowl.

Loki nodded "Believe me, I know. Take it up with Odin."

A rumble of thunder outside surprised them all for a moment and they looked over at the window. Loki looked up at the ceiling, as if sure he misheard.

"Rain?" Tony asked. The sky had been clearer than anything today. He was answered by another boom of thunder.

Loki looked over at Thor. His older brother shrugged.

"It's not me."

Loki's eyebrows went up, almost as if he didn't believe him.

"It's not." Thor repeated with a bit more force. Almost as if to prove his innocence, he walked over towards the door, grabbing his hammer as he did so. Loki leaned away from him slightly in irritation as if simply being within half a foot disgusted him. Then he walked after Thor. Nathaniel went to follow, but Loki grabbed his arm with a rather harsh grip. He pulled him back to where Laura could keep ahold of him.

"Not again." Hawkeye muttered, standing up. Out of anyone, he definitely had a reason to be most worried. Besides having nearly died, he had Laura and the others to worry about. Not to mention the home to defend.

"Tone down the thunder, God of Thunder." Tony said with a bit more cheer.

He wasn't speaking to anyone in particular, but no one else seemed quite as amused anymore. Volstagg and the others went to follow them and after a moment, Captain America did too.

When they got out, they found Thor and Loki both staring up at a gathering storm. It looked like an ordinary storm except for the fact that it was all gathering in one spot.

"Random...hurricane? Tony asked, looking around. Most of them were actually looking at Loki, but he wasn't saying anything.

"Are you sure this isn't you, Thor?" Fandral asked hopefully "I wouldn't be at all upset if you said yes. Even if it were a practical joke."

"I'm not doing anything." Thor said. He looked at Loki "What is this?"

Loki shook his head slightly without looking at him.

Then, without warning, Thor summoned his own lightening by thrusting his hammer into the air. The bolt shot into the center of the mystery clouds, electrifying the air around it. When he stopped, most of the clouds had dispersed.

Loki was still looking up at it, face concerned. Thor's own lightening seemed to have taken care of the ominous storm. It was definitely unnatural by the way it receded so quickly.

"Well it's gone now." Thor said. Even though his words were definitive, they were almost defiant in the way they denied that anything else would happen. Loki didn't correct him, but he slowly took his eyes from the sky. Captain America watched him with cautious eyes.

"I don't suppose there's anyway we can return to the festivities now?" Volstagg asked, earning an elbow from Fandral.

Thor was now looking at Loki, clearly demanding to know something, but the God of Mischief wasn't returning his gaze. He was simply standing there, listening and waiting, eyes unfocused.

"I don't suppose you've seen this before?" Captain America asked.

"No." Loki said flatly.

The soldier looked away, clearly unsatisfied.

"But my best guess is that it's a warning." the God went on.

"A warning for what?" Hawkeye asked with a bit of sharpness "More frost giants?"

"Most likely." Loki responded, nodding towards the field.

"Most likely?" Captain America asked, following his gaze.

Near a pile of churned up dirt, the dust was starting to swirl, lifted by an unseen force.

Thor turned to it, hammer waving a bit in his hand with anticipation. All the other warriors walked forward to stand by his side. They could deal with frost giants.

"I certainly hope it's not more of them." Tony asked "Their strategy didn't work out so well the first time, so for their sake, I hope they're not returning for another round."

"They didn't announce themselves last time." Hawkeye pointed out, referring to the thunder.

The air simmered, and then turned black as a single hooded figure stepped out of the void.

"That's no frost giant." Captain America said, stepping forward next to Thor.

"Wait. We don't know who they are. Maybe they're peaceful." Thor said, halting him.

The figure walked forward, keeping his head low.

"Stop where you are." Thor ordered "If you come in peace then we have no quarrel with you."

"Come in peace?" the voice belonged to that of a man. Captain America's eyes widened just a bit.

"Peace has no place in war, gentleman." the main continued, raising his hands to take off his hood. He looked up at them, sunken eyes filled with triumphant menace.

He had red skin and horrible grotesque features. His nose resembled that of a skull. He smiled at them.

"Do not threaten war here!" Thor yelled back.

"This isn't the first time. And as much as you hate to admit it, it's quite easy." he said. His eyes finally fell on Captain America with a bit of surprise "Well this unexpected. You're still alive. I honestly didn't expect anyone here to greet me."

The newcomer was Red Skull.


	14. Past Hatred

"Do not threaten war here!" Thor yelled at Red Skull, fist clenching his hammer.

"This isn't the first time. And as much as you hate to admit it, it's quite easy." he said. His eyes finally fell on Captain America with a bit of surprise "Well this unexpected. You're still alive. I honestly didn't expect anyone here to greet me." he tilted his head "And yet there are two."

Loki looked back at the man, head leaned forward and eyes lit with anticipation. He took a few slow steps forward, wary as he watched the red faced man.

"You truly are unpredictable, Loki." Red Skull said, shaking his head slightly without taking his eyes off the God of Mischief "I had high doubts about whether you would return from your endeavor and yet here you are."

"I have doubts about whether you'll ever be given an endeavor to follow through on." Loki responded. Captain America faced the red faced man right on, eyes scowling deeply over at him. The fact that his oldest enemy was speaking to someone else besides him came as a shock.

"I think you'll be surprised to find that I have undertaken many these last few months." Red Skull said with an almost amused sigh "No matter what you believe about me, _you're_ still back here with him."

Loki paced slightly, his long and very sharp knife sliding into his hand. This was cause for alarm among everyone else.

"You're just humiliated by the fact that He chose me and not you." Loki said. Red Skull glowered back at him. This suggested a pre-existing conflict between the two of them.

"How have you come to this realm?" Thor snapped, having no appreciation for the gravity of the moment.

"Oh my, he really is a fool." Red Skull said, seeming still to be talking to Loki.

"You always speak that of others, but never of yourself, where it is most evident." Loki replied, still pacing as he stared the mutant down. Thor looked at his younger brother. Cleverly, Loki had neither agreed with nor denied what the new man claimed about his older brother.

"Who is this guy?" Hawkeye asked under his breath, arrow pulled far back, ready to send it into his target.

The conversation was clearly making everyone question the God of Mischief's motives as he spoke to the invader.

Red Skull looked at Loki, his face full of disdain "You have noticed the weakening of the borders between the realms."

"I'd be surprised if you were the master behind that." Loki responded coldly, moving into a position to fight.

"No. You're not truly that naíve are you?" Red Skull asked, a grin creeping over those ugly cheeks.

Loki sneered at him in reply.

"You know, we did warn you." Red Skull said, walking forward slowly, eyes slightly smug "He warned you to kill him quickly. Or you would fall right back into that trap."

Loki said nothing in reply to that and the group fell into a very tense silence as the two glared at each other, hatred hanging in the air.

"Alright, are you going to back off or am I going to shoot you?" Hawkeye called. Red Skull smiled slightly.

"What do you know about what's happening between the different worlds?" Captain America asked, looking at him warningly. He had his shield rest in front of him rather than on his side.

"Well, like your new comrad said, I'm not the only one using it to my advantage." Red Skull said "No, indeed. There have been many spots of unrest in this universe. One beginning on Asgard with the murder of their precious queen."

Loki's back stiffened noticeably while Thor took in a deep breath, clearly brought on by anger.

"Oh." Red Skull shook his head while clicking his tongue disapprovingly at the God of Mischief "Loki, for shame. All that burying of sentimentality undone by a single sentence. Come now, she wasn't even your mother. You said so yourself."

"You're laying a net at your feet." Loki warned, voice low and dangerous.

"You should have been the one to kill her, Loki. After all, it really was in your favor that she died." Red Skull said.

If only looks could kill, their problem would have been solved. The God's eyes shone fury. A different type of fury than the one where he fought Thor. This one was fueled by remorse and grief, although you wouldn't see that by his expression.

"Quite gracelessly I must add." Red Skull replied "Such a shameful death, unable to defend ones self or the realm they swore protect. Tell me, Loki, was she truly that weak? It's not a wonder Asgard suffered under her rule."

"How dare you." Thor growled.

Loki pointed a knife at the Red Skull, face dark "You should have died long ago. I'll see to that today."

"I doubt that very much. But others might." Red Skull replied "Look at it from my perspective. Even if I die, the borders could be so blurred I might be able to slip to Valhalla and pay her a visit. If she's even there. See how weak she truly is."

Loki let out a sharp yell, full of anger and finally ran at him. Surprisingly, Red Skull whipped around and ran the other way.

"Loki, wait!" Thor snapped, immediately running after him. He was rather surprised since Loki was usually the one who kept his cool much longer than him. Captain America was the first one to follow them.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Loki was much quicker on his feet than either of them. Red Skull, having had a head start, was already hitting the tree line a ways out from the house.

"Hogun, Sif, stay with them." Volstagg said, gesturing at house, but the other Avengers were in that direction as well.

"Why? The threat just left." Sif replied in annoyance as she pointed over urgently.

"That may have been a diversion." Volstagg said "Frost giants make sense, but one man does not."

"I'll stay here." Hawkeye said, backing up with his arrow still drawn. No one objected, nor was surprised.

* * *

Branches snapped and slashed their faces as Loki and Red Skull ran through the trees. The red mutant could almost feel the hot fury racing behind him. When he glanced back, his eyes weren't fearful, although he had to be uneasy. They were delighted.

However, as soon as he faced forward again, he was struck with shocking strength from the side. It took him a moment to come to his sense and realize that his face ached from the blow.

Loki stood in front of him, eyes glaring.

Red Skull got to his feet as the God of Mischief approached him.

"You're talented, I'll say that." Red Skull said, smiling.

Loki didn't waste time with words; he simply dove forward with the blade. Red Skull caught his arm in mid swing, but the other knife slashed across his cheek. His head snapped to the side with a pained growl.

"You would think you'd be better, considering all the time you spend there." Loki said darkly, stepping back towards him.

"He gave you the opportunity of a lifetime." Red Skull replied "And now you'll spend your lifetime rotting in prison because you failed. I suppose a worthy end for a traitor."

Loki half bared his teeth at the man, jaw clenched in anger. He swung again at him, but Red Skull twisted away, ready to face him upright again.

"Loki!" Thor's voice boomed through the trees. Him and Captain America came to a stop a few yards away.

Now the two Asgardian brothers were on either side of the mutant human.

"Loki, stand down." Thor ordered, brandishing his hammer.

"Not until he's dead." Loki responded angrily.

"Or until your 'friends' are." Red Skull responded, the word 'friends' spoken with pure sarcasm. It didn't take long for the rest of them to show up after he'd said these words.

"You surrender willingly now, or we will force you too." Captain America said with his usual serious, calm tone.

Red Skull responded by pulling out a weapon Captain America was all too familiar with; a HYDRA weapon. A weapon powered by the tesseract. Smaller, more compact, but definitely the same thing. The realization was evident on the soldier's face, as he instinctively threw his shield horizontally at his oldest enemy almost as if he were defending a crowd full of citizens.

Red Skull raised an arm to hit the shield away in the opposite direction. The clang when it hit was far too loud for his armor to be anything less than vibranium.

"Never again, Captain." Red Skull said "I am far too prepared for everything that's going to happen here."

"You have no battle to be won here." Thor responded.

"Really?" Red Skull asked, turning the weapon to him.

Loki was already on the move, leaving Thor no opportunity to throw Mjolnir. The God of Mischief leapt at HYDRA's previous leader, wrapping a knife around his neck while twisting to force him to the ground. He had him pinned, one long dagger pressed onto his throat. Oddly, Red Skull wasn't struggling in the slightest. Thor hurried forward, stopping only a few feet from them, ready to continue the fight.

"Enjoy your time in Hel." Loki half whispered this to him, the knife already drawing a hint of blood.

"Loki, don't!" Thor ordered, not wanting their greatest lead to go to waste.

"You've earned a spot at my side." Red Skull responded with a smile, although his eyes were slightly wide "Unfortunately, I think you'll be there before I am."

And just like that, he faded into the ground, leaving Loki to curse in frustration. He stabbed into the ground angrily, as if that could possibly do anything. Everyone stared in disbelief.

"Where did he go?" Captain America demanded, running over to where the God of Mischief knelt.

"They opened a portal. He's gone." Loki replied, pushing off his knee to stand up. He looked around them in the forest for a moment. He was clearly still furious as he turned around, walking in the direction of the house, dagger still grasped in his hand. Thor stared at the ground where Red Skull had disappeared.

"No. I mean, where?" Captain America asked sharply, walking over to his shield quickly "He said others might die today, what did he mean?"

When the God of Mischief didn't reply, Captain America walked after him.

"Loki! Where is he?"

"Do you expect me to know?" Loki snapped back at him. He had clearly been flustered by the appearance of Red Skull.

"If he's still on Earth then everyone is in danger." Captain America said.

Loki rolled his eyes away slightly as he continued back towards the house.

"He came back to the exact. Same. Place." Captain America said angrily "There's something else going on here."

"Well, we already knew that." Loki replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"What is it?" Captain America asked.

"I already explained that people like him want the scepter." Loki replied, his eyes narrowed as if speaking to child.

"Anyone would know that one man isn't going to be enough." Captain America said "And I know you know that."

"He's more than just a man now." Loki replied.

"He should have died when when the tesseract went off next to him." Captain America said.

"You should know by now that the tesseract has much more capabilities than simply killing." Loki responded.

"You knew him, he spoke to you like an old friend." Captain America said aggressively "How do you know him?"

"I don't need to tell you anything about it." Loki said.

"I think you do. You better explain. Now." Captain America said, stepping closer to him.

Loki held up a blade right in front of the soldiers face, the hand grasping it twisted to the side "You threaten me and you're going to have a whole different kind of fight on your hands." he said darkly.

A shocked Captain America leaned back slightly from it instinctively as Thor walked over and pushed between.

"Whoa whoa whoa." Tony said, holding out both hands.

"Both of you stop." Thor growled. Volstagg and Fandral had joined him a moment before, kneeling by the spot where Red Skull had disappeared, but were now on their feet in alarm. Everyone else moved forward warily.

"Loki, put it down." Thor said, looking straight at his younger brother intently. He knew if a fight broke out now, he would have to intervene and that was the last thing he wanted right now. He knew from experience that Loki was much stronger than he looked.

Everyone seemed to hold their breaths for a moment as they waited tensely. The God of Mischief remained where he was for several moments, staring at Captain America with razor sharp eyes. It was clear he badly wanted to ignore Thor. Then after a second more of waiting and with clear reluctance, he slowly lowered his weapon. Captain America regarded him warily, but with a new found respect that hadn't been there before. Loki continued to look at him with narrowed eyes.

"How do you know him?" Captain America asked, his voice even, but not friendly.

Loki didn't reply right off and for a moment they weren't sure if he was going to or not.

"We met. Many years ago. And if it wasn't blatantly obvious, we're not friends."

"Where did he come from?" Captain America asked.

"That I can't know." Loki responded. Captain America scowled slightly at him, but he didn't have time to protest.

"He was provoking a fight." Tony said, walking over "I mean, he's just one guy. Even if we didn't have Gods here, we'd still be more than he could handle alone."

"Don't count on that." Loki muttered under his breath and then spoke in a louder tone "He wanted me to follow him."

"So you did?" Captain America asked seriously, tilting his head forward.

Loki's eyes flicked over to him "Well, being who I am it's a little harder to fool me. He didn't count on that fact that I'd actually be able to kill him. Unfortunately, I can't control where they open their portals. Obviously they had an escape route planned."

"That means they know how to control them." Thor said grimly.

"Barely." Loki replied.

"You keep saying 'they' like you know who you're talking about." Captain America said "Do you?"

Loki glanced at him with the barest hint of contempt, but he didn't say anything.

"Loki, do you know who that man is working with?" Thor asked plainly.

The God of Mischief pointedly kept his eyes low, although it wasn't all too hard to notice the small gleam of satisfaction.

"Loki?" Thor asked, his voice growing slightly more wary. Finally his younger brother looked at him.

"Someone well beyond your reach." Loki replied.

Several of the people there shared a look, before every eye landed back on him. There was something just a bit too sly about his tone.

"Who is it?" Thor asked. He knew the only time Loki would have met Red Skull was his time in the Void. And they all knew what had happened after that.  
Loki leaned his head forward, eyes narrowed to slits.

"That kind of information comes with a price."

The forest went silent. Thor blinked as he stared at him. He'd been dreading this moment for a while now. Volstagg held his breath, eyes weary.

"You're not in a position to bargain here." Thor replied tensely.

"Oh, I think I am." Loki responded. He suddenly appeared much more calm. He let out a smug sigh, moving his head along with it "And while I'm fully aware Odin isn't above torture, I know that you are. Although, the great king would probably abstain from it this time. And even if he didn't, well, you'll find that I'm fairly well versed in it. You'd lose anything I have to offer forever." he paused a moment, looking at Thor with raised eyebrows "You don't have another option."

"What exactly do you know?" Volstagg asked.

"Enough." Loki responded without turning to him.

"And you haven't told us this whole time?" Captain America asked. He wasn't particularly surprised, but someone had to say it.

"I didn't know. Not until I saw Red Skull." Loki replied, still with a tiny smirk on his face.

"Red Skull?" Volstagg asked. The God of Mischief didn't acknowledge his query.

Thor looked at Loki for a moment, aware that the others eyes were on him. The God of Thunder glanced at the ground before letting out a deep breath and looking back up at his brother.

"What do you want?"

"We're not really going to start there are we?" Loki asked. Volstagg rolled his eyes, clearly not able to stand this anticipation.

"What are you suggesting?" Captain America asked, but he was practically ignored.

Thor walked over to Loki, teeth clenched as he leaned in towards him.

"Loki, what are you doing?" he said softly, but angrily "If you know what's going on, then tell us. Tell us now. You're not going to help yourself by making father any angrier. Who is that man working for and why did he come here?"

Loki turned his head with a bit of sarcasm "I think it might be best if I spoke to the great Allfather himself. Not through you." he continued to look at Thor as his older brother leaned back away, eyes in a conflicted scowl. The God of Thunder stared into Loki's cruelly triumphant eyes with frustration.

"You know you can't be set free." he said under his breath.

"That's not my problem." Loki replied darkly.

Thor turned away from him angrily. He remained there for several seconds before facing the others.

"We will travel to Asgard." he said definitively.


	15. The Dangerous Truth

Thor walked into the middle of the field, hammer hanging from his hand. His steps indicated that he rather anxious at the moment. Loki was right behind him, eyes narrowed as he took light steps after his brother. They had returned to the house to get Hawkeye and found it all quiet, as if Red Skull had never appeared.

Thor looked at the others, who were all standing around him "The Bifrost will carry us straight there. Do not move or there is a chance you will fall out into the Void."

Loki looked at Thor questioningly as he spoke to the rest of the Avengers.

"You're going to take them to Asgard?" Volstagg asked incredulously.

"You will stay here with Hogun." Thor replied, without answering his question "Since this appears to be the place they attack."

"I think I'll stay too." Tony said, pointing at the ground "I've had enough experience flying out of this world for a lifetime."

"I never thought you'd be the one to turn this down." Hawkeye said, glancing at him. Then he looked at Thor "Why are _we_ going to Asgard?"

"So we can find out the truth." Thor growled. He looked at Loki with clear disdain and his younger brother returned it, his face bitter and satisfied.

"Heimdall. Open the Bifrost." Thor ordered.

"Wait a second." Captain America said, but the light was already surrounding them.

Suddenly, they were flying through the air. Loki and Thor were right next to each other, gazing up as if expecting to see Asgard at the top. The rainbow light whooshing past them was beautiful, but having been given the orders from the God of Thunder not to move, they were all completely still, eyes wide.

* * *

Heimdall stood on the pedestal, face stoic as he watched the spinning vortex in front of him. One by one, the travelers appeared. First Thor, and then Loki. The rest came in quick succession before Heimdall pulled the sword out with a clang.

Captain America was looking around, rather stunned.

"You return." Heimdall said, looking at all of the others with serious eyes "The Allfather will not be pleased. Mortals were not meant to trespass on other realms."

"They are here on my authority. Odin will listen." Thor replied.

"That was close to the weirdest thing I've ever experienced." Tony said offhandedly.

Heimdall was looking Loki, yellow eyes neutral as two guards approached from the entrance of the Bifrost, apparently already aware that they would have guests. They walked immediately over to Loki, manacles in their grasp. After a heartbeat of a pause, the God of Mischief held out his wrists and allowed the guards to place the shackles around them. He said nothing to them, even though he knew that everyone else was watching.

"Let's go." Thor said lowly, taking his eyes off his brother and heading out of the dome. Loki followed suit, hands shackled so they remained in front of him rather than at his sides.

As they started walking, Banner leaned over to Hawkeye.

"They cuff him here, but not on Earth?" he asked quietly.

* * *

The Avengers walked into the massive room filled with columns and lined with guards. Thor strode into the palace with ease. Loki's expression was hard and slightly bitter. although he appeared just as confident walking down the hall.

One of the guards stood by the throne, a small staff in his hand. He inclined his head.

"My prince. You seek the Allfather?"

"Yes." Thor replied "We need to speak with him. Where is he?"

"He dwells in his chambers." the guard replied. His eyes scanned the mortals with concern "I will summon him for you."

"Thank you." Thor said and the guard bowed his head again before leaving.

Everyone looked around the spacious room and the vaulted ceiling. Except Loki, whose eyes remained on the floor in front of him.

It didn't take long for the king of Asgard to appear. Gungnir was in his hand as he stood at the seat of the throne, head erect. The warriors lowered their heads respectfully.

"Thor." Odin said, his voice echoing off the walls. He didn't sound happy in the slightest "Why have you brought them here? Asgard is not a place for mortal beings."

"I am aware." Thor responded "But we need to speak with you."

"I think we have a bigger problem then where we belong or not." Hawkeye muttered quietly enough so that no one could hear him. Even so, Odin looked at him.

"What have you found out?" he asked. Obviously, Heimdall had said something to him. He looked at Loki, who stared back with a calm challenge in his eyes.

Thor glanced at his brother as well, unwilling to speak for him this time.

"Loki." Odin said "You have something to say."

Loki leaned forward, eyebrows up "Do I? There is a bargain to be made first, I believe."

"There will be no bargain." Odin responded.

"Then there will be no exchange of information." Loki replied sharply, eyes narrowed. The air had quickly grown cold.

"You are forgetting your place." Odin said, taking a few steps down from the throne "You are not immune to the punishments of treachery, Loki, and certainly not the means of getting information. I will return you to that cell and leave you there for the rest of your life. Thor granted you relief from your solitude. I can reverse that. Prisoners have no rights."

"Oh I'm well aware." Loki responded quietly. He turned his head slightly "Unfortunately Odin, you raised me to think for myself. Even if you return me to my cell, sooner or later you'll need my knowledge and you'll return to the dungeon."

"You value what you know too highly." Odin said.

Loki held back a smile "As far as you know."

"Enough. Hush your wit." Odin said, with a hint of warning.

"I have nothing more to say. Return me to the dungeons. Or better yet, kill me. Quite honestly, that might be more merciful at this point." Loki said, walking forward slowly, eyes intense "But if you choose to do so, Odin, that would be a very poor example of the love for the nine realms you claim to care about."

Thor took a few steps after his brother, eyes anxious "Loki, stop."

"I would heed his words." Odin said, peering at his son with narrowed eyes "We will discuss this elsewhere. Loki, follow me to my chambers."

"You would rather trade insults in private?" Loki asked scathingly.

"Loki, please." Thor muttered warningly.

"You have your terms and I have mine. No one else needs to be present." Odin responded, eyes still on Loki.

"It'll be a short debate." Loki said bitterly, staring at him, but he walked forward. Two Asgardian soldiers followed him as Thor watched with solemn eyes.

"Father..." he said.

"You remain here." Odin said, glancing at him. He picked up his staff and went after his adopted son.

Captain America looked over at Thor once he was gone.

"He can't let Loki out." he said, his voice incredulous.

"He won't." Thor replied.

"He'll come up with some sort of ruse, a ploy, you know that." Sif said.

"And you don't think Odin can see through them?" Thor asked angrily, glancing at her. He didn't seem the least bit worried about what Loki was going to demand.  
Sif blinked, seeming a bit put off by his harsh response.

"We need what he knows." Thor said a bit quieter "Odin understands that."

"What if it turns out to be something worthless and he's just fooling us into giving him something?" Banner asked, waving his glasses "It could be something we already know."

"He knew...Red Skull." Captain America said, clearly in deep thought as he stared at the ground "And Red Skull knew him. That alone is a big problem."

Thor looked after where the two of them had disappeared grimly.

"Thor. I know he's your younger brother, but you can't protect him anymore. Loki's fate is in his own hands. He'll make his own decisions." Fandral said without looking at the God of Thunder.

"He's too stubborn to let it go." Thor replied. He pointed a finger at the floor "Loki will push Odin until he's completely unreasonable and he'll put Loki back in prison. Then we'll lose his help and we still won't have what we need."

Captain America let out a deep breath, glancing over at Tony and Hawkeye. Tony waited a moment before speaking.

"Well, at least while we wait, you could give us the grand tour." he said.

"Do you ever think before you speak?" Hawkeye asked dryly, glancing at him.

"Yes." Tony responded, face intentionally serious "Really, if I didn't hang around with this group, you'd all be on anti-depressant meds by now."

"Hang around? You're the one who called us all in." Hawkeye replied.

"Right, so I was choosing to be around you." Tony said, waving his hand to stress the words.

"We're all so happy you're here." Black Widow said with a faint smile. It immediately left her face though.

"Alright, I'm going to eliminate the sarcasm from that sentence and just take it as a compliment." Tony replied "I trust the old king, he will deal with Loki."

Thor and Captain America didn't join in the lighthearted argument with them. They were both waiting impatiently for Odin and Loki to reappear.

"So, who's Red Skull?" Fandral asked. Captain America glanced at him, arms folded.

"He was the head of HYDRA." he responded "It was a terrorist organization on Earth. They used the tesseract to create weapons and tried to use those weapons to force humans to comply. It started in Germany and just got worse from there. I thought the tesseract killed Red Skull a long time ago, but it looks like I was wrong. It must have...teleported him or something." Captain America looked at Thor "Loki and him spoke as if neither of them were in charge. As if Red Skull answered to someone else."

Thor let out a deep breath, but he didn't have any words to respond so he just nodded.

"You realize time isn't on our side, right?" Captain America asked "That man could still be on Earth. And if he is, he'll make it known."

"I know." Thor responded with a slightly anxious scowl.

Captain America didn't say anything else after that and the group descended into silence. When ten more minutes passed, Tony started pacing back back and forth. He didn't speak up, but it was obvious everyone else was thinking the same thing. If all else failed, they would have to let Loki free. And yet, that wasn't an option.

  
Although Thor had learned to be more patient after his banishment, he definitely still needed some practice. He wanted to know what was happening in there. What Odin was saying. What they could possibly be debating.

Another fifteen minutes passed without a word from any of the guards. Thor's arms were folded and he stared at the ground blankly. He wished Odin would have allowed him in there. He was good at being the mediator between the two of them.

Ten more minutes lapsed by and most of them were on the verge of speaking. But they stayed quiet, as if a few more minutes would solve the problem.

"At least we'll know right away if Earth is no longer there when we try to return." Tony said.

"That's not funny." Captain America replied in irritation.

"I know. I wasn't being funny." Tony said.

"Heimdall is keeping watch. He will know if there is an attack on Earth." Thor said, one hand extended with the palm down in an irritated gesture.

Footsteps from in front of him made the God of Thunder turn his head. Two guards walked down the hall and Odin appeared after. Loki was not with them.  
Thor walked over quickly, the question rising to his lips.

"Loki will tell us what he knows." Odin announced before he could say anything.

Thor blinked in shock, stopping dead.

"What happened?" he asked in disbelief.

"We reached an agreement." Odin responded. The others shared a glance, eyes flicking back and forth.

"How?" Thor asked in shock.

"Loki has no desire to return to the dungeons, that much is obvious. In the end, he did seek his freedom." Odin said "He thought that was the only thing he wanted. I showed him that it was not."

"What did you give him?" Thor asked.

"That does not matter." the king said "Follow me. It would be best if all of you are present to hear what he has to say."

If Thor wasn't surprised enough, Odin inviting mortals into his personal chambers was sure to tie the knot. The God of Thunder hesitated a moment before following his father.

When they entered the room, Loki was facing the balcony away from them. When he glanced back, his hands were still chained and his eyes were narrowed. Thor stared at him, trying to see if he could read what was in those eyes. Unfortunately, there was no obvious emotion in them.

"In the bounds of our covenant, Loki, you will tell us what you know." Odin admonished.

Loki tilted his head, squinting at him. Obviously him and Odin hadn't improved their relationship one bit.

"It might be best if we begin with a question." Loki responded coldly.

Odin looked over at Thor and the God of Thunder was all too happy to oblige.

"What do you know about the man who came to Earth?" he asked, staring at his brother intently while pushing away his curiosity.

"They call him Red Skull." Loki replied. He spoke shortly, as if he wished this was over "I don't know the details of his time on Earth before this other than he used the tesseract to create weapons."

"When did _you_ meet him?" Captain America asked. He had been waiting for this.

Even though Loki's demeanor didn't change dramatically, it was obvious it would be better if Thor asked the questions.

"I met him after my swift departure from Asgard." the God of Mischief replied, his voice laced with a bit of sarcasm. Odin's head turned to the side ever so slightly as if wary of deception.

"He was in a foreign realm." Loki continued "One that none of you would have heard of."

"Why did he come to Earth?" Thor asked. He took a step forward "Loki, I know there is a much bigger picture here. We're wasting time."

"He most likely came to Earth because the scepter is hidden there, if I haven't already made that clear." Loki responded.

"But you've never told us why." Captain America replied.

"They gave it to me." Loki said with quiet anger as he looked at the soldier for several seconds "It's a powerful weapon, not unlike the ones you've seen before."

"They? Who is they?" Captain America asked.

Loki paused for a moment, clearly rethinking all that he wanted to tell them.

"Red Skull serves someone called Thanos." he said finally.

Odin's eyebrows furrowed for a second and Thor glanced over at him. The others shared looks amongst themselves, wondering if anyone was familiar with the name.

"His title is the God of Death." Loki continued grimly "He sent Red Skull to Earth to scout out potential problems. They want the scepter."

"And you knew they were doing this before?" Captain America asked, face much more sober now. He had no idea that the red-faced mutant was the least of his worries now.

"I didn't. Not until Red Skull showed up." Loki responded coldly. Of course, that was partly a lie.

"Is the scepter all they want?" Thor asked, his voice full of disbelief "A being that has achieved the status God of Death has certainly done something to earn it."

Loki stopped once again. Odin was staring at him, his mind clearly going a million directions at once.

"Loki." Thor said.

The God of Mischief's eyes moved to him, the emotion still slightly contemptful.

"No. If I were to speculate, he has a much bigger plan in place. But it begins with the scepter. That is among the more powerful objects he once possessed."

"And what does he plan to do once he gets it back?" Thor asked, still rather patiently, despite the fact that getting these answers was like dragging a cat out of a bag. Slow, frustrating, and worst of all, seemingly painful for the cat. Loki in this case.

"Can you think of nothing?" his younger brother asked.

"I can think of plenty." Tony replied with a few nods.

"He didn't start with Earth and he won't end with Earth." Loki said.

"So, what? Universal domination?" Tony asked "Because I can sure as hell guarantee that there are plenty of other people willing to fight just like us."

"And you'll find double the amount willing to fight with him." Loki responded sharply, suddenly sounding angry "You think the Chitari were an army? You should imagine millions of others much more brilliant than them attacking any of the realms they please. Beings like Red Skull. Smart. Cunning. They won't show mercy, they won't leave survivors and all your precious protections would quail before them. Before you underestimate him, you should imagine billions upon billions of your people dead."

Tony stared back at him, quieted.

"You don't know who you're up against. You have no idea." Loki added darkly "I take it you were surprised by the random appearance of that man today? You'll never see the rest of them coming."

"What kind of beings fight by his side?" Thor asked.

"Ones like Red Skull." Loki repeated "And entire races you have never heard of. Ones that truly are only bloodthirsty monsters that enjoy killing. Frost giants are nothing compared to them." he looked at Odin "Asgard might find a new hatred besides Jotunheim."

Odin was staring at him gravely.

"And he is taking matters into his own hands now, why? Why didn't he come before?" Sif asked pointedly.

"You think he hasn't been planning this? I'll ask you a return question. Why didn't the frost giants come and slaughter everyone on Asgard a thousand years ago?" Loki countered "Because they couldn't. They had no way to get here. Not everyone has the blessing of choosing where they want to go at any given moment."

"But they're learning how to open the portals now." Banner said, waving a hand as the dots connected. His voice was calming compared to the rest of them.

"They've finally become powerful enough." Loki said.

"Do you think the frost giants are involved in this?" Odin asked, speaking for the first time.

"Why? You actually wish they were all dead now?" Loki asked sarcastically.

"Loki." Odin said warningly.

"Odin." The God of Mischief replied with equal contempt.

"Is Thanos employing their help or not?" Odin asked again.

"You expect me to know that?" Loki asked.

"I'm asking what you think." Odin responded.

"No. If they were, they would not be attacking randomly." Loki said. He seemed reluctant to give his thoughts directly to Odin "Obviously they don't know how to control the portals well. They have only weakened them."

"That much I can sense." Odin responded. He looked at the ground, jaw twisting slightly as he thought.

"Do they all follow his command?" Thor asked quietly.

"To their dying breath." Loki replied.

"So, what do we do?" Captain America asked, looking around in exasperation "There's got to be something we can do to prevent this. This isn't just the end of the universe as we know it." he looked at the God of Mischief "Loki?"

"I've spoken my piece." Loki replied and Captain America half glared at him.

"There is no immediate threat." Odin responded, his commanding voice silencing the rest of the mutterings as Gungnir banged on the ground.

"With all due respect, my king." Fandral said, arm hovering in the respectful motion across his chest "The Frost Giants came to Earth with intentions to kill. Mortals stand no chance against them."

"That is why you are there." Odin responded. He looked at the others "We can deal with the Jotuns. Until the bigger threat arises, they are to be your main concern."  
"We have a bigger threat." Captain America said "He came to Earth less than an hour ago."

"Do you have any evidence that this man remains on Earth?" Odin asked, his voice calm. The silence answered him, although Captain America was well prepared for a debate.

"Heimdall will keep a watchful eye on Earth." Odin went on before any arguing could commence "If that man is there, or he returns, we will send word. Let this be Asgard's concern. You are the protectors of Midgard, not the protectors of the realms. That burden does not fall to you. If and when the frost giants return, we will find a way to close these portals ourselves. It is the only way we will be able to stop more undesirable beings from entering."

"We can't spend the eternities blocking them from coming." Tony pointed out "They'll find a way eventually."

"We will do what we must until we can do more." Odin responded "Loki." He looked at the hidden frost giant "You will remain on Earth to warn them of oncoming threats. I admonish you to be honest if something should be revealed that you find useful."

Loki returned his gaze, his face full of amused contempt. He leaned forward.

"It'll be an _honor_ to carry out your orders." he said with cold sarcasm "I advise you to hold up your end of the bargain. Or you may find yourself with a lack of warning."

He inclined his head with mock respect before turning away from them. The two Asgardian soldiers followed him as he left the room. Odin did not stop him, but his eyes followed him all the way out.

"Father." Thor ventured.

Odin looked at the ground, leaning heavily on his staff.

"This is worse than I feared." he said quietly "Much worse. I thank Valhalla Loki came to a compromise."

"Do you know of this being named Thanos?" Thor asked immediately.

"I had always hoped it was not true. I am familiar with the name. And the title. The fact that Loki mingled among them is deeply unsettling. I always suspected that he had been..." Odin shook his head slightly as he faded off. He turned his eyes to his eldest son "Thanos is a dark being. He will not be satisfied with one realm; he wants them all."

"Do you believe all that he told you?" Thor asked cautiously.

"It is reasonable to assume that Thanos would have followers, but if Loki is not lying then that means he has an army. A battalion."

"What do you want us to do?" Thor asked.

"Just as I said. Return to Earth. Protect it. Let me deal with the rest. I will call you when you are needed here." Odin responded. Captain America blinked, as if he wanted to object.

"What did you give him that made him willing to speak so freely?" Thor asked.

"A number of things." Odin replied "I too am astounded by the amount he revealed. He is no fool. Loki is fully aware that by telling us even a portion of those things, he has signed his death sentence."

Thor blinked, eyes shocked "What do you mean?" he looked after where Loki has disappeared "Then you would send him back to Earth? Where he will be exposed?"

"This coming from the man who claimed he had no brother left to love." Odin countered, although his voice was gentler "There is no danger at this moment. Either way, I suspect Loki would rather die out there, than within the confines of his cell."

"I have no intentions of letting him be killed." Thor responded with a hint of anger. His fist tightened on the handle of Mjolnir.

"Peace, my son." Odin said "Loki is fully capable of defending himself, he would not take kindly to you trying to do it for him. He will be safe. However." Odin's voice became more stern "You are still not to place trust in him. In all honesty, I don't know why he did not ask for something when you originally came to him, nor why he continues to offer his assistance cooperatively. I do know that he is more cornered than ever and that is when he is most unpredictable. Now." he looked at the others for a moment before back at Thor.

"We must call the rest of the warriors. It's time you were sent off properly."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please drop a comment if you are so inclined:)


	16. Quiet Mourning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *waves hello*

The sun was setting on the distance horizon, sending a beautiful stream of orange across the water. Tony and Hawkeye were looking out across it as they waited. Captain America was clearly too agitated to join them. Right now there were a lot of other Asgardians gathering in the street.

"So does this send off include us, or just the Asgardians?" Tony asked off-handedly. He sniffed "Probably just the Asgardians I would guess."

"I don't think we're even supposed to be here." Hawkeye responded. He smiled slightly "Loki isn't the only disobedient son apparently."

"Where he get off to?" Tony asked.

"I don't know. Hopefully he's with Thor and the others or we're all in trouble." Hawkeye responded. He glanced at Tony "Do you believe him? About Thanos or whoever?"

Tony's eyes flicked back and forth "Were we not supposed to?"

"Probably not. But I do." Hawkeye replied "I wish I didn't."

"Yeah, well, now might be a good time to let the rest of the world in on it." Tony said. He had to talk just a bit louder because of all the noise from the crowd. He was going to speak again when we was drowned out by a loud horn.

* * *

Thor swung himself up onto his horse and guided it around in a circle until it faced the other way. Generally when him and his friends were sent off, they were joking and teasing one another, but not now. The warriors sensed this was not the time. Even so, they did try once or twice.

Thor looked over at the horse near the gate. This horse had no rider, although it was bridled and ready to go.

A palace guard walked through the gate, his helmet off.

"They are ready for you, Prince Thor." he said.

Thor nodded at him and the warriors fell in formation behind him. The loud horn blew and celebratory music followed it.

The horses walked out swiftly into the crowd of cheering citizens. The warriors waved as they passed, smiles covering their faces. Clearly they had missed this.

Thor, previously the most arrogant, was riding silently, his face serious. He had invited Loki to join them, but the God of Mischief had declined. Even so, his horse had been prepared and Thor was off center in the formation, leaving an empty space where his younger brother used to ride. It didn't seem intentional, but something he naturally had done in the past.

Loki was near the end, watching with expressionless eyes, before he looked down at his book again. The other Avengers had just noticed him as well. Silent, not cheering, just simply there. None of them commented on it though.

Near the end, Thor finally gave a wave to the wanting crowd, symbolizing that they had nothing to fear. Asgard was protected.

* * *

"Well we haven't done that in a long time, I almost forgot what it felt like." Volstagg said joyously.

"I agree, it is enjoyable." Fandral replied, tucking his long, thin sword back into its guard "Generally though, we are heading off to war. It almost seems disappointing."

"There will be war, never fear that." Volstagg admonished.

The other Avengers had joined them back in the large hall, where the warriors voices were echoing loudly. Loki wasn't with them but his guards were on the opposite end. Thor was walking over to them across the room. They both stood there, arms hanging at their sides, eyes expectant at his approach.

"Where is Loki?" Thor asked "We need to return to Midgard."

"The prisoner is in his old chambers." one of them replied.

Thor blinked, his head turning slightly.

"The king granted him access to Queen Frigga's private quarters." the guard explained "I saw no reason not to allow him in his chambers as well."

Thor hesitated a moment before nodding at him. He had already said goodbye to his father. However unfortunate, it was time to leave.

* * *

Loki stared at the room he had been in so many times as a child. His mother's quarters had always been so calming. He often went there to get away from Thor or even for his magic lessons.

But now, it was silent. His guards had remained outside. After all, he was shackled with powerful cuffs. He has already picked up a book. It wasn't old; probably only read a few times. Loki hadn't read that one, but he knew Frigga had. For a few more moments, he looked up at the vaulted ceiling and over towards the balcony doors. Then he turned to leave the room.

  
As he walked out, his guards said nothing, not even about the book. Loki spoke briefly with the taller of the two. He inclined his head to the former prince and motioned for the other guard to follow him. Loki walked behind them until they reached his old quarters. The doors were very large and not very far away from Thor's. The God of Mischief placed his hand on the door and opened it. As he walked in, he noticed that nothing had really changed. Not that he could remember everything exactly as he left it. Loki ran his hands over the very tidy line of books on his desk before selecting one. His room was always neat and clean, just how he liked it.  
He flipped through the pages for a moment before replacing it and taking another. He held this one next to the one from Frigga's room.

Loki glanced over at the large bed that was furnished with many decorative pillows and blankets. After a moment, he walked over to it. He fingered the blanket near the end for a moment thoughtfully.

Then he heard Thor approaching and immediately stopped. He glanced behind him as his older brother stopped to look at him solemnly.

The God of Mischief didn't speak, but he walked over, not needing Thor to tell him they were leaving. His older brother was so close to speaking to him but remained silent, although he wasn't sure what held him back.

Loki walked up to his guards and held out his hands. One of them reached forward and removed the manacles with a click. They lifted them off his arms and Loki turned back to Thor, both books still in his hand. His eyebrows were up, shielding any emotion from coming across his face.


	17. Terrors in the Past

Loki turned to the next page on his book, fingers hovering above the middle of the page. He was standing outside as Thor and the other Avengers had a rather serious conversation. Even though Thor tried to deny the privacy of it, Loki and the other warriors were never included in them. Not that really mattered to them, but Volstagg was certainly getting a bit peeved.

"I think you're just used to being Thor's confidant." Fandral said in amusement. He was cleaning his sword rather obsessively at the moment as if he wanted to be able to see his face at any given moment. He glanced at his friend with a small smile "Don't worry, I'm sure once this passes he'll return to Asgard for the next little while. You can have conversations with him then."

"Fandral, keep quiet, or you're going to have to clean that sword of your blood." Volstagg replied, pointedly.

"I don't think even blood could stain it now." Sif said.

"Precisely." Fandral responded with a cheeky smile "Volstagg, if you want to know the truth of it, I don't think that the Captain." He blinked and then rolled his eyes slightly "Or whatever they call him, really likes the idea of waiting."

"Well, they don't need to talk about that. Odin ordered them to and that's the end of it." Volstagg responded. He had been filled in from the talks on Asgard so he was well aware of what they were meant to do.

"He's not their king." Fandral replied "Although I must admit, they spoke rather openly to him." he pointed a finger up "That was a bit worrisome at points."

Inside, their muffled voices could be heard by the group all gathered in the living room. Tony was in a chair, slouching to a comfortable position.

"Personally, I think waiting is a fabulous idea." he said, echoing Volstagg's thoughts "Then we'll die and we don't have to do any work before hand."

"No one needs die, we're just waiting until we have more information." Thor said "Asgard does not have the power to send us to an unknown realm."

"So then what does your father plan on doing about Thanos?" Captain America asked.

"You mean the God of Death?" Tony asked with raised eyebrows. He pulled out a clear pad, about the size of a cell phone and swiped his fingers across it a few times.

"He and Heimdall will work to find out if Heimdall is simply blind to those areas that Loki mentioned. If not, then we will gain a great advantage over them." Thor replied.

"Alright, but these portals are still opening." Captain America said.

"We will control whatever happens." Thor replied.

"I think we need to go after Red Skull." Captain America said "He disappeared once and I assumed he was no longer a threat."

"And you don't want to make that mistake again, we get it, but we have no idea if he's still on Earth." Hawkeye pointed out.

"Yes, we do." Tony said, standing up. He looked at Thor, eyes concerned "Get them in here, we all need to see this."

Thor scowled for a moment in confusion. He walked over and spoke something out to the others.

Tony walked over to his bigger screen just as they all started to come in the door. Loki slowly shut his book, remaining closer to the door than the others.

Tony flipped the pad at the board, as if flinging the words straight from the mini screen. A live news report appeared.

"...suffering from the devastating effects of what seem to be a terrorist attack." the female reporter said "Four New York citizens are dead after an explained explosion went off in a residential area. Eyewitnesses report seeing a blue light before an apartment building was partially collapsed. Several others were injured in the attack and are being treated at the local hospital. First responders say that a tall man with red face paint was seen leaving the site afterwards, but he has yet to be identified. More reports to come, please stay tuned-"

Tony waved it off and turned to the others, his face finally in a grim frown.

"Call it a hunch, but I think it's safe to say he's still on Earth." he said.

"Thor?" Captain America asked, looking at him. There was a question in his tone.

The God of Thunder glanced at him quickly, face deep in thought.

"If he's here, that means Heimdall cannot see him. This should not be possible because Heimdall can see everything that is happening on Earth."

"Perhaps his attention is diverted elsewhere." Volstagg said, but there was no conviction behind it.

"We need to get out there." Captain America said, walking over to the kitchen. He picked up his shield just as Thor spoke again.

"Loki." he was looking at his younger brother. Loki glanced up at him.

"When you let frost giants onto Asgard, how did they escape Heimdall's watch?" Thor asked. He shook his head slightly "And I'm not asking to start an argument, I'm asking because Red Skull seems to be doing the same thing."

Loki stared back at his anxious adopted brother in silence.

"It's a shrouding enchantment. Forgive me if I don't reveal the details of my methods." he responded coldly.

"But Red Skull doesn't have magic." Captain America said.

Loki scowled slightly "As far as you know. However, there are likely many dark talsmins that can cloak people. And if you haven't deduced it already, Heimdall can't any see portals or pathways so he won't be able to help you there."

"Well, that's not true." Volstagg rebuked instantly "Heimdall controls the Bifrost. Do you think we're ignorant?"

Loki stared at him as if he were just barely hanging on to an insult. Then after a controlled blink he said:

"The Bifrost is not a pathway. Pathways are unknown breaks in the realm borders." he tilted his head "So, yes, you are indeed ignorant."

Volstagg's brow furrowed, but he didn't pursue it to regain his pride.

"You realize, if we go there to find him, we will be announcing the problem to the world." Hawkeye said, glancing at him.

"It looks like he already has." Captain America said.

"I agree with him on this one, we don't have a choice." Tony said, pointing a thumb at Captain America.

"So are you calling in the local authorities or what?" Banner asked, waving an arm slightly "I mean, chances are he's not still there. We'll need some help finding him."

"Based on that." Caltain America said, pointing at the screen "We should be able to find him wherever he goes."

* * *

"Of course." Volstagg said, nodding at Thor "We will stay and protect the home." he glanced over towards the front door "Are you taking Loki?"

Thor gave a nod in return "Loki is to remain with me. I suspect he will be useful going against this creature. They obviously have no love for each other. He will sense if and when Red Skull should appear."

"If it's not a ruse." Sif reminded him.

"Loki is under close guard." Thor replied. Although his face didn't show it, his voice was vaguely frustrated.

"Have you told Odin what you are planning to do?" Fandral asked.

"I will leave that up to Heimdall." Thor replied "I will report to my father later. He told us to protect Earth and that is what we will do."

"Very well." Volstagg said "Good luck."

"To you as well, my friends." Thor responded "I hope this won't be difficult."

He turned away from them, Mjolnir grasped firmly in his hand, and walked over to his brother.  
Tony flicked open a pair of sunglasses and put them on. He looked at Thor with a thoughtful scowl.

"Hey guys, we're planning on heading in under the radar, right?" he asked.

"I didn't realize you were capable of doing that." Black Widow responded with a cheeky smile.

"I think he's saying you two might stand out. A little." Hawkeye said, speaking to Thor and Loki. He didn't even bother to look up from his arrows he was sorting.

"Yeah, you might want to try just a little bit more... humanly clothing." Tony added casually.

Thor blinked and didn't do anything for a moment. Then he glanced at Loki and back again.  
The God of Mischief's eyes narrowed back at his older brother.

"Don't just look at me." he said, his voice disgusted "You can figure that out yourself. It's not as if I can use the hammer, so you don't get to use me. You go make yourself look like a mortal."

Thor turned to face him, expression neutral. He held out his hammer with a small smile.

"Here. You can have it."

That earned a dark glare from Loki and Thor lowered it back down. He looked ahead again for a moment.

"You know, you never made a fuss about it when we were younger. I never heard you ask father for one. You could have."

Loki tilted his head "Um. He's not my father and no I couldn't have. It was always for the worthy son, remember? Even as children."

"You were worthy. You took the throne when father wasn't able." Thor replied. He was remaining in surprisingly good humor despite Loki's attempts to provoke him.

"And yet, the moment you returned home it would have gone straight back to you." Loki said scathingly "Isn't it funny how that works?"

"Mother started teaching you magic long before I got this." Thor responded "Besides, the moment father presented it to me, all I received were lectures from that point on. The very first one being that I had to use it to protect you."

"Oh well thank you, I'm forever in your debt." Loki responded sarcastically. Clearly, Odin had been right when he said Loki didn't enjoy being protected.

When the God of Mischief didn't say anything else, Thor just looked forward calmly.

"Please."

Loki rolled his eyes in pure disgust. However, after a moment, a green light moved over both of them, leaving two very different men moved his chin back slightly, eyebrows up.

The Asgardians long hair had vanished into short, neat cuts and they were both wearing casual, yet attractive clothing.

It was surprising to see Loki was actually just as tall as Thor. With all of their armor on it always made the first born son seem bigger. Thor briefly glanced down at himself, as if having a flashback.

"Alright. Looks like we're ready to go." Black Widow said, still staring at them.

* * *

Construction workers were sweeping away the debris still strewn across the street. The cars were backed up even more than usual as they all tried to make it through the one lane. The partially collapsed building was black on one side, wires and metal rods sticking out from it.

"That look like HYDRA weapon damage to you?" Tony asked. The group was standing across the street a ways down from it. People were continually walking around them and occasionally through them.

"It had to have been him." Captain America said, staring at the damage.

Thor's hands rested on his hips, eyes in a thoughtful scowl. There were reporters standing next to people asking them questions about the events.

"Do you really think he would hang around here? After this?" Hawkeye asked, gesturing up at the building.

"He'll probably want to admire his work." Tony replied.

"Maybe we can ask someone that lived there." Thor said.

"The chances of finding them are close to zero." Hawkeye replied "They'll be with their insurance adjuster."

"Unless they're hanging around." Tony pointed out, gesturing over to a coffee shop near the wreckage. The street was blocked off with barricades and men, but several people were sitting at the coffee shop tables a ways away, watching the clean up. They were pointing ocassionally. A few of them were right at the barricade. Apparently, the government also realized this was more than a terrorist attack.

Thor glanced over at Loki as if to seek his advice, still surprised by how different he looked as a mortal. The God of Mischief didn't acknowledge his look; he was staring right ahead with his arms folded.

"Well, we can always head back there until another news report shows where he is." Tony said, gesturing at the Avengers tower, which was plainly visible even from a few miles.

"Or where he was." Hawkeye added, moving forward out of the way of someone walking past them.

"Again with the depressing attitude." Tony said, flicking a hand at him "We get it. He might not still be here."

Suddenly there was a loud commotion as police officers rushed over to a pair of of women taking photos of the damage. The cameramen for the reporters flipped around to get the conflict on film. They'd just finished interviewing these women only moments earlier.

"Doesn't look like it's just police department." Captain America said, watching the intervention.

"Department of Homeland Security gets jurisdiction over terrorist cases." Hawkeye replied, without looking at any of them "It would be best if we didn't attract their attention."

Two officers spoke to the women for a few minutes as another man shoed away the reporter. Fortunately, the women just backed off, rather speedily actually. The men watched them leave for a few seconds before turning back to their work.

The ladies walked towards the group of low-profile Avengers, obviously rather stunned.

"That was a little weird." the one who had taken the pictures said, sounding disgruntled. She had short blonde hair with dark brown streaks in it and her eyeliner could be seen a block away. Her friend just shrugged, apparently more freaked out by the police encounter than she was. The two of them continued over to a bakery and sat down outside at a round table as if trying to act like nothing had happened.

Tony glanced at Hawkeye and then at the others.

"So they could be eyewitnesses, that doesn't mean they remember what they saw." Black Widow said. She turned around slowly and walked over to one of numerous tables. Taking a seat, she looked up at them and crossed her legs.

"We should ask them anyway." Captain America said, staring at Black Widow with a little bit of annoyance.

She smiled "Sure. I'm just sitting in case this takes a while."

"I would go and talk to her myself, but on the off chance that she knows who I am, it might not help." Tony said. There wasn't any sarcasm in his voice, although it was definitely inferred.

"Yeah, that's the same for any of us." Hawkeye said. Then he glanced at Thor "Except."

The others look over at him one at a time.

"You want to talk to her?" Tony asked, pointing at him. Captain America rolled his eyes.

"If you think that would be the best solution." Thor said.

"If she was there when it happened she might have seen Red Skull." Captain America explained.

"That's a long shot." Hawkeye said "But it's possible."

"What exactly are you gonna say?" Banner asked with a small exasperated laugh "Hey, did you happen to see the red-faced man that blew up this building? Yeah, he's a criminal, do you know where he went?"

"You can just strike up a conversation and swing it around to that." Tony replied "I mean, not all of us are relationship inept."

"I'm just saying you might scare her off." Banner replied, completely ignoring his jibe.

"This guy?" Tony asked, patting Thor on the shoulder "No, he's a teddy bear. Especially without his hammer."

"I will talk to her. Otherwise we're just giving him another chance to get away." Thor replied.

"And we should probably move before we start looking conspicuous." Hawkeye pointed out. He was the first one to move and Tony followed him after a moment.

Thor started walking towards the bakery as Captain America and Banner took a seat beside Black Widow. Loki watched his brother silently, but he was definitely watching him.

The God of Thunder took heavy, determined steps, not uncommon for most Asgardians. He approached them with complete confidence, although his face could have used a smile.

He stopped in front of them and said in a rather abrupt manner:

"Greetings."

Loki gave a sharp intake of breath and the others glanced at him momentarily before looking back at Thor, mouths open similarly to Loki's.

The women with blonde hair jumped about four feet in the air, looking at Thor with wide eyes.

Loki slowly raised a hand to put over his mouth, obviously trying to contain any laughter that should come as Thor continued to speak. Clearly even he had not been expecting that. After a moment, he took his hand off with a steadying breath and leaned towards the others ever so slighty.

"I'm afraid we have chosen the wrong brother." he said evenly, without looking at them.

Hawkeye scratched his neck slightly, lips pressed together and eyes on the ground. The rest of them shared looks between themselves before returning their eyes to Thor.

Both of the girls were smiling at him, but they had a nervous aspect about them. It was obvious he failing miserably. After a moment, the blonde line just shook her head at him. She glanced at her friend pointedly before getting up. Then she looked back at Thor and said something with obvious politeness. Her friend stood up and the two of them walked over into the bakery shop.

Loki's lips were pressed together. When Thor glanced over at them, Loki shook his head slightly. Tony gestured subtly for him to come back.

As the God of Thunder walked over, Loki rose a hand to his mouth, staring at his brother with the first hint of amusement they'd seen in him so far.

"Well done." he said.

Thor just scowled at him in return.

"What, were you hoping to charm them right off?" Loki asked scathingly "This isn't Asgard, Thor, this is Midgard and they have no idea who you are."

"It was successful in the past." Thor replied in irritation "Unlike your unexistant attempts."

"Then you met a very peculiar mortal woman." Loki said, ignoring the insult "You might not want to introduce yourself with the word 'greetings' here."

"Really? Go ahead then, clever brother." Thor replied, holding out a hand towards the bakery in contempt.

Loki gave a triumphant smirk and then he immediately started walking over to the scene of failed flirting. Thor watched him with a furrowed brow as if he hadn't expected Loki to take him up on it.

The rest of the group watched in a awkward concerned silence. Part of them wondered if they should allow Loki to walk away in the middle of New York City. The other part didn't know what to say to the God Avenger standing a foot away from them.

Loki seemed to become one with the crowd for a moment, steps light compared to Thor. He made his way to the round tables and took a seat. He kept his eyes over on the workers cleaning up the rubble.

Thor watched with folded arms, looking more Asgardian than ever, despite his wardrobe.

It took a good five minutes before both of the women came out of the shop with coffee. They were both laughing as if one had just shared a very funny joke, but one could guess what they were really laughing about.

Loki paid them no heed at first, but as they started to walk past him, he did a double take, as if surprised. Then, he stood up.

"I am so sorry to interrupt ladies." he said and they both looked at him warily.

"Weren't you both on the news this morning?" Loki asked, with just the right amount of surprise.

"Oh. Uh, yeah." the blonde one said, her voice echoing his.

"So you were here when that happened?" Loki asked, gesturing vaguely at the scene a ways down.

"Yeah, we both were." the other girl responded, staring at him for just a bit too long. Then she glanced away, blinking several times.

"That's crazy. Wait, wait you weren't in the building were you?" Loki asked, eyes widening slightly.

"Oh no. No way." the blonde one said "If I'd been in there, I'd be dead. My apartment was on the side that collasped."

"That was your building?" Loki asked, the shock sounding completely genuine.

"Yes, I only moved in like a month ago." she replied "But I had a lot of stuff in there that I haven't been able to get to since these people arrived."

"It's just lucky you weren't in there." Loki responded with an obvious smile.

"It really was. Her and I go jogging every day." the blonde said, gesturing at her friend "We were just heading out when it happened. I don't even know if my neighbors are dead or what because they haven't released the names."

"Yeah, that really was terrible wasn't it?" Loki replied with a small shake of his head.

Several yards away, Tony was nodding slowly, eyebrows raised.

"Twenty bucks says he comes out with a date." he said, holding out a hand to Captain America.

Captain America didn't respond to him except for a simple glance at his hand and after a moment, Tony withdrew it.

It wasn't long before Loki walked back in their direction, parting ways with the women. Thor was still scowling at him slightly as he approached. Surprisingly, the God of Mischief's expression was completely stoic now, quite the contrast from a few minutes earlier.  
Instead of speaking to them as he walked by, he indicated that they should keep on moving towards the building wreckage. Thor turned after him, his face a mixture of curiosity and annoyance.

"What is it?" he asked, falling into place with Loki.

"They saw him leave this direction. Unfortunately as mortals they were rather vague, but they mentioned they think someone else reported seeing him." Loki's eyes briefly over to the other humans who followed Thor "If one of you want to confirm that."

Tony looked briefly surprised as Loki rarely addressed them, but he was the first one to put out his device.

"He made a scene because he wants us to go after him. He's daring us to find him." Captain America said grimly.

"We'll he's considerate, I'll give him that." Hawkeye replied, glancing back at the wreckage.

Thor didn't said anything yet. In fact, he was still pondering over what Loki had said a few moments before. It was similar, if much more cold, to how they had worked together when they were younger. Loki would get past someone with his sly tongue and then they could charge into battle together.

Unfortunately, his younger brother was already turned away from him. It wasn't like him not to be smug about his success where Thor had failed.

"Yes, just a little ways away from here." Tony said. He glanced up "So what are we doing? Walking? Flying?"

"Just moving, people are going to start noticing." Captain America replied, turning around.

"Uh, wrong way." Tony said, flicking a finger in the other direction.

"How far is it?" Hawkeye asked.

"A few miles. But you can bet he won't be there now. Best be off." Tony replied.

* * *

The spot they were headed to was much less busy than most of New York. Although it was a relief not to have so many citizens around, it definitely made them question why Red Skull had chosen to go there. Ordinary terrorists went for mass casualties.

"Maybe he's making himself at home?" Tony asked, gesturing at one of the abandoned buildings on their right.

Thor kept his eye on Loki, but not to make sure he wasn't escaping for once. The God of Mischief looked far less mortal now that he was scanning the area cautiously.

"Have there been any other reports?" Captain America asked. Tony shook his head.

"You don't suppose that he came out here just to throw us off, do you?" Hawkeye asked, walking up the steps to a building. He had to speak over the cars passing by them.

Captain America glanced at Loki without thinking, a terrible thought entering his mind. He glanced away rather quickly, and luckily, the God was not looking his way.

"Hey, Jarvis, scan the area. See if this bastard is anywhere near." Tony said.

"I'm sure he won't appreciate that." Hawkeye said.

"He doesn't have to." Tony replied "Doesn't take appreciation to find-"

An explosion suddenly sent him flying a few feet away. Rubble from the building landed around him as he winced in pain. Hawkeye and Captain America were both flat on their backs as well.

Thor pushed himself to his feet as Loki rolled to the side to stand up. The human form illusion disappeared, revealing the two Asgardians in all their glory, standing side by side.

"You're doing well to follow the trail." Red Skull spoke, although they could not see him.

Hawkeye grimaced as got to his feet, staring at the smoke enfolding the building.

"Jarvis. Bring the suit." Tony said, breathing hard as he stood up. In a few moments, they all lined up next to each other, staring into the fog.

"Don't go after him." Thor growled at Loki quietly "We'll do it together."

The hidden Jotun gave him a rather cold look, but Thor stared him down for a moment.  
A second later, there was a whoosh of air behind them as Tony's suit shot through the air. Then, with a few clanks it opened and closed around the man.

"Here we go." he said, eyes flicking over the screen "Guys, we've got some thermal radiation, he's in the building. "

"Move in." Captain America replied, taking a few steps forward. He didn't get far before a blue blast careened into his shield, sending him flying backwards.

Tony took off into the air, palms flat as the suit propelled him up in the air.

"Cap, you alright?" he asked over the earpiece.

"Fine." Captain America said, rolling up with a grunt "Just don't let him get away."

"Someone's got to grab his weapon." Hawkeye said, pulling an arrow back and aiming it on the building.

"Come on." Thor said to Loki, walking forward. Out of anyone, including Captain America, they were the least likely to get hurt.

Loki didn't look at his older brother, but he followed him slowly.

"You Gods have yet to realize you're not invinsible." Red Skull said.

"Guys, get out of dodge!" Tony said urgently, taking a sudden dive. About a second later, another shot flew at them. It hit the ground in front of them and sent shards of concrete showering.

Ironman blocked a fair majority of the rather large pieces with a blast from his own suit and Loki waved away the rest with an enhanced wind current.

Meanwhile, Hawkeye and Black Widow were making their way around the to the side of the building.

"Wish you had that scepter now, don't you? You'd best find it before we do." Red Skull said, walking forward out of the shadow finally. He was smiling over at Loki.

Captain America immediately ran at him, taking a flying leap and preparing to slam down on the man with his shield. Red Skull took one step back and disappeared into thin air, so the soldier took a roll instead. Popping back up, he looked around angrily.

"Where is h-" a sharp hit to the back pushed him forward, knocking the wind out of him.

Red Skull only had a second to gloat before Thor was upon him. The mutant turned just in time to catch the God's arm in mid swing. To his credit, Red Skull seemed to be holding him off for a moment, but Thor ultimately overpowered him. Seeing his weakness, Red Skull let himself be enveloped into a portal again and Thor stumbled forward. He growled, looking up.

"They can control them." he said angrily.

"Get that thing away from him and he won't be nearly as good." Loki responded with nod at where the man had disappeared "It's giving him too much power."

"Really Loki?" Red Skull said as if chastising him. He was now walking from the opposite side, away from Black Widow and Hawkeye "You might not want to divulge further details. For your sake."

Ironman flew down, hovering a few yards above him "And for your sake, I suggest you surrender."

"We already know enough, Red Skull." Thor said with defiance "And you can tell Thanos he won't be invading any worlds unopposed."

Red Skull's eyes widened and he looked at Loki, stunned.

"You...you told them." he said, jaw clenching. For the first time, he finally looked stricken. His eyes blazed.

"_Traitor_!" he snarled.

"So I've been told." Loki responded.

"This goes beyond betraying Asgard." Red Skull said "We may not be friends, but I never thought you would do this. You're going to wish Asgard had held to their law and killed you. At least that would have been quick." he narrowed his eyes, shaking his head slightly "When I tell him..."

"Yes, when you do, make you sure you include the part where I kill you." Loki replied.

"We will see." Red Skull said.

"Yeah good luck with that." Tony said. A bright beam shot from his palm, heading right for the man.

Red Skull immediately fired back and the blast from his weapon completely dissipated the other. In fact, it continued after and Ironman flew upward to avoid it.

Then, a long black arrow punctured the red mutant's hand and he snarled as he jerked it back down. However, he kept ahold of the weapon. Hawkeye lowered his weapon in frustration as the others began to move in. Then he looked down the street behind them. He could hear sirens, a lot of them heading their way already.

Red Skull tore out the arrow angrily and threw it toward Thor with surprising force. Loki was upon him in a second. It was obvious that the two of them had fought before; they knew precisely how to block each other. The God of Michief went for the weapon immediately, but Red Skull caught his arm and twisted it. As Loki slowly began to gain the upperhand in the battle, the once mortal man used his other hand to slash something across Loki's neck. Surprisingly, the God recoiled with a hiss of pain. His hand immediately rose to the spot where a dark blue mark had appeared, his face angry, but there was a hint of foreboding in there as well.

"Frost giant." Red Skull sneered "If you don't use that to your advantage, then it's going to be used against you."

Thor let out an angry growl and flung Mjolnir at him. Red Skull was too slow to react and it hit him squarely in the chest. Ironman fired at him as well, just for good measure. Red Skull flew backwards and smashed into the building debris behind him. The HYDRA weapon fractured and a small wave of energy was released.

Thor looked over at Loki, who still appeared to be a bit unsettled. His eyes were blank as if he were remembering something unpleasant. Then he looked up, blinked, and started walking towards the settling dust. Thor and Captain America followed him.

"Guys we've got police headed this way." Hawkeye said, arrow still drawn and pointed towards the building "We need to get out of here."

"He's not dead." Loki said bluntly.

There was a grunt from Red Skull and he slowly got to his feet. The HYDRA weapon was glowing more brilliantly than before. In fact, it was pulsing like the tesseract had before it destroyed the SHIELD laboratory.

Red Skull glared at them, eyes hateful before he took a few steps back and disappeared into a shimmering wall.

Loki watched him with unmoving eyes, waiting to see if he was coming back. The mark on his neck was still very dark blue, but some blood had begun to seep out around the edge. It had yet to revert back to Asgardian skin color.

"Is he still here?" Thor asked him. The sirens were definitely getting closer. Not that it mattered; multiple people had seen them and undoubtedly taken footage.

"A portal has not reopened, if that's what you mean." Loki responded, his voice slightly cold.

"Then we need to leave." Captain America said, moving the shield to his other hand.

* * *

Tony watched the news with one hand on the side of his head. The woman on the screen stood in front of the partially collasped building they had just fought with Red Skull. Paramedics were there helping the few that had been injured.

"And here, not quite three miles from the original terrorist attack lies another attack. This one, unfortunately, seems to take a different turn."

The screen flashed to Captain America throwing his shield and then to Ironman shooting into the air.

Tony rubbed his eyes with a deep sigh.

"As you can see, the recently famed Avengers were there during the explosion. But were they the ones causing the trouble, or were they defending us yet again? Stay tuned as we gather more details on this second terrorist in New York City today."

Tony waved a hand to make the screen go away and turned away from it. Thor looked over from his conversation with Lady Sif and The Warriors Three as it got quieter, but they resumed after a moment.

It was obvious that Hawkeye must have come home with various injuries before because Laura seemed unfazed by treating the ones they had. None of his children were remotely surprised either.

The news of the fight with Red Skull had spread rapidly, as shown by the news report. They were expecting, but not hoping for, a call from SHIELD and perhaps Director Fury.

"On the bright side, it looks like Loki was right about his scepter." Tony said. Captain America glanced over at him solemnly.

"What do you mean?" Hawkeye asked from his seat at the dining room table.

Tony glanced towards the window. The God of Mischief was outside so he wasn't going to overhear anything.

"Red Skull mentioned it. How Loki should probably find it before they did." he went on.

Thor walked over, leaving his conversation with his friends.

"And you think that means what?" Captain America asked.

"That Loki was right, I just said it." Tony replied. He glanced at the others "Didn't I?"

"These types of objects have always drawn darkness." Thor said "First the tesseract, and now the sceptor."

"Which your dad did kind of point out was left here temptingly." Hawkeye replied.

"They will return for it." Thor said "And more people will suffer needlessly."

"Is it the signal itself the scepter gives off that allows them easier access?" Tony asked with genuine curiosity "Becauee if so, let's just destroy the damn thing?"

"Loki might know that, but it's not a guarantee." Thor replied "Besides, we couldn't do anything about that. Destroying objects like that is extremely difficult. Not to mention dangerous."

"What if we could though?" Tony asked "Not destroy it, but stop the signal."

"We're listening." Captain America said with just a hint of sarcasm.

"What if we had the sceptor?" Tony asked. His eyebrows went up questioningly. The group stared at him rather gravely.

"It's more than locked away." Hawkeye replied finally after a few seconds "We have no idea where it is."

"But could we find it?" Tony asked "I'm sure we could, what with all of our talents. Is it possible?" He turned to Thor "Is it possible to block the signal, or whatever it gives off, from reaching Thanos?"

"We can't steal the scepter." Hawkeye replied. He sounded a lot more frustrated as Tony had just basically ignored him.

"Umm...we might not have a choice." Tony said "There's no way in hell Fury would ever agree to give it to us."

"Fury wouldn't even be the problem." Black Widow responded "You'd have dozens of other people to go through."

"Good, that means I don't have to lose him as a friend." Tony said.

"The rest of SHIELD wouldn't thank you for breaking in and stealing something when we're kind of supposed to be the good guys." Banner responded.

"No, but the world might. Remember how they were the ones that tried to nuke New York City?" Tony asked.

"And how they were trying to stop that man?" Captain America asked, pointing out the window "You're telling me you want to give that sceptor back to him?"

"We don't have to give it him." Tony said with a tad bit of innocence "But I'd rather it was in Loki's hands than some God of Death."

"Kind of like better the devil you know then the devil you don't?" Black Widow asked dryly.

"He does make a fair point." Banner said, glancing at her "I mean if it's that simple, then we could stop this while thing from happening right now."

"So can he block the signal?" Tony asked, again directing his attention to Thor.

The God of Thunder's eyes flicked between them for a moment.

"I mean obviously that's a loaded question." Tony went on, waving a hand "You don't have to give me an answer right now."

* * *

Loki winced a tiny bit before withdrawing his hand from the mark on his neck. He lifted his book back up to continue reading, but the injury was rather inflamed right now, distracting him. It wasn't even slightly healed over. In fact, blood still gently seeped at the edges of it.

"We should return to Asgard."

Loki looked up and then behind him at Thor. His older brother walked toward him from the house.

"What?" he asked.

"You need a healer." Thor replied, nodding at his neck.

"No. I don't." Loki responded. He looked back down at his book as if he hoped that would be the end of the conversation.

"What did he do?" Thor asked.

"What do you think he did, Thor?" Loki asked scathingly.

"I would guess, but I think you already know." Thor replied.

"He has something that burns frost giants." Loki responded bluntly "I think that's fairly obvious."

Thor just stared back at those cold green eyes.

"But it's something you don't have to deal with so it doesn't matter." Loki went on.

"It doesn't look like it's healing." Thor said with the same amount of steadiness to his voice "So we should return to Asgard for a little while."

"I'm quite sure no healer wants to treat a former prince of Asgard, let alone a frost giant, so that's not an option." Loki replied, narrowing his eyes. He looked away with a breath "They heal on their own after a while."

Thor stared at him, his expression sober.

"Torturing or being tortured?" he asked.

Loki looked at him with a deep confused scowl "What?"

Thor let out a deep breath "You said that if Father decided to torture you for information that it wouldn't matter because you were already well versed in it." he paused, gazing at Loki "Torturing others or being tortured yourself?"

Loki half glared at him, but it was obvious he was a bit surprised by the question.

"Just go with the one you find more believable." he replied "I expect it would be the first."

"Believe it or not, it isn't." Thor said with a bit of spark in his voice.

Loki looked at him coldly "Thor. I told you what you needed to know. You don't need to know anything else. After this were all going to be dead or I'm going to be back in prison. So leave my past alone." he turned away from his brother and began walking away.

"Loki." Thor said, eyes on the ground. The God of Mischief continued walking, but when Thor didn't go on, he stopped and looked back at his older brother.

"We are going to find the scepter." Thor said.

Loki narrowed his eyes at him.

"Why?"

The question took Thor a little bit by surprise, but he didn't hesitate in responding.

"If it's attracting Thanos and his followers then it shouldn't be under mortal protection."  
Even though he had known about the God of Death far longer than Thor, Loki didn't use the name lightly. He actually avoided it when possible, so hearing it said that bluntly was a bit jarring.

"What, are you planning on taking it to Asgard?" Loki asked "Odin might not approve, seeing how it's attracting so much terror to this realm."

"Odin knows that Asgard is better equipped to defend itself than Earth." Thor responded "But, no, that was not my intention. One of the others was wondering if whatever signal that sceptor gives off is actually the source of the weakening between realms."

Loki's eyes flicked away for a moment before returning to Thor.

"I doubt it, but it's possible. It's really just given them more incentive." he said.

"Do you know where the scepter is?" Thor asked.

Loki tilted his head at him "No. I think that of anybody you should ask, it shouldn't be me." he nodded behind him at the house "Ask them."

"They are not aware of its location." Thor replied "Very few are. Would you be able to find it?"

"Are you asking to ensure that it's safe or asking if I could help you find it?" Loki asked scathingly.

"Will you let down your guard?" Thor responded in irritation "I have no hidden motives. Is it possible that you would be able to help us find it so that we can figure out a way to perhaps stop the signal from reaching them?"

"They already know it's here." Loki replied with the same annoyed tone.

"But that's what is allowing them access then it's imperative that we get it first. Red Skull said they were going after it." Thor said "Can you find it?"

"You're going to steal it?" Loki asked with a hint of cold amusement "That doesn't sound like you at all."

"Nick Fury or any other member of SHIELD would not understand." Thor replied "It's our only choice. Can you sense the scepter?"

Loki fell silent for a few minutes, as if he were contemplating something. He stared down at the ground for several seconds. Another prompt rose to Thor's mouth when the God of Mischief spoke.

"No. Not well enough to find it." he said "But I'm sure if you asked Heimdall he would be able to give you somewhere to start."

Thor sighed silently. He would rather that he didn't go through Heimdall for this. Odin may not approve of their plan. But he decided not argue that.

"And is there a way for you to block the signal?" he asked.

"You're thinking about this in very simplistic terms." Loki replied without looking at him. He raised his hands to accentuate his words "There isn't just a constant 'signal' being eminated into space. It holds power and they can sense that power. And they ready knew it was here."

"If they already knew it was here then they would have been here the moment I took you back to Asgard." Thor responded "It has to be giving them the power to open these portals and we have to stop that."

"Then go speak to Heimdall." Loki said shortly.


	18. Leap of Faith

The Bifrost slowly wound back down as Thor stepped out and onto the gold flooring of the dome. He had debated on whether or not to bring Loki along with him. But Heimdall would most likely order guards to be present and then all hope of secrecy from Odin would be lost.

The God of Thunder looked up at Asgard's watchman.

"You wish to know the location of the scepter." Heimdall said, before Thor could even get a single word out. His yellow eyes always seemed to be reflecting stars.

The God of Thunder let out a deep breath, unhappy with what he was requesting of Asgard's guardian, but more unhappy with the fact that he couldn't hide anything from him.

"Are you aware of the consequences of Loki regaining power over that weapon?" Heimdall continued, his voice calm.

"Yes." Thor said.

"Yet, you are going to rely on him as you go to find it." Heimdall replied "If I am not mistaken, I believe that the Allfather ordered you not to trust him."

Thor looked away, obviously realizing how pointless this was going to be. Heimdall remained silent for several seconds.

"You are not far from the scepter where you currently are on Earth." he said finally.

Thor looked at him, eyes slightly wide.

"But of course, I am sworn to protect the throne. I cannot tell you that it is just outside New York City within the confines of a well-protected base." Heimdall replied.

"Of course not." Thor said, without cracking the smile that was rising to his face.

"If you would come across it, remember that it will be a great temptation to the former prince of Asgard that resides with you." Heimdall said.

"Loki is no longer of great concern to me." Thor replied pointedly.

"Then, you have been misled." Heimdall said. He held no disdain or anger, but his voice was plain.

"I don't believe so." Thor said. Their conversation had become surprisingly tense at the mention of Loki.

"Thor, I wish for you to be careful." Heimdall said, finally dropping the formality.

"You should not worry. I am aware that I cannot trust him fully. Yet." Thor responded, taking a few steps back "Now, I must return to Earth. I fully understand why you cannot reveal the location of the scepter to me."

"Good." Heimdall replied. He turned back towards the pedestal.

* * *

"There?" Tony asked, looking at Hawkeye "They kept it there?" then he switched his gaze to the others "Public service announcement." he pointed at the ground "Someone in SHIELD is being controlled by Thanos."

Captain America rolled his eyes.

"Oh, sorry, it's me." Black Widow said.

Tony nodded "I always knew there was something you weren't telling me." he shook his head with a smile "Maybe they had a reason for putting it within twenty miles of the city that was attacked." he shrugged "No idiot would think to look there."

"Are you saying you're an idiot because you didn't think to look there?" Fandral asked with about as much teasing in his voice as humanly possible. Tony looked at him.

"Do you think we should bring Loki along with us?" Captain America asked Thor.

"Yes. He said he can help us find it once he is close enough." Thor replied.

Although no one objected, the others obviously shared a general feeling of uneasiness about that. Hawkeye looked over at Captain America with a grim expression.

"Does Fury know about this?" Tony asked.

"No. And you probably shouldn't tell him." Hawkeye said.

"He won't like the idea of me getting close to that thing again." Banner said, folding his arms awkwardly across his chest "And I'm not really excited myself."

"Me neither." Hawkeye agreed and then shrugged with his hands "But we don't have a choice."

"It'll be kept under wraps." Captain America told them quietly "Banner, I think you should stay here. We're only going in and going out."

"In other words, you won't need the other guy in there." Banner replied. He glanced at the ground and then back up "Alright, I can stay here."

"Just to be clear, we aren't leading an attack on this place are we?" Volstagg asked "Like, we would want to avoid casualities?"

"There shouldn't be any casualties. Period." Captain America responded.

"And take care with that. Mortals are killed far easier than we are." Thor replied to his friends.

That almost earned an eye roll from Volstagg, but obviously his friend contained himself. They may not be willing to attack Earth, but that didn't mean they weren't put off by mortals' shortcomings.

"Some are." Tony added to the God of Thunder's statement. Then he took in a deep breath "Well, we should we be on our way. I always knew night time was best for naughty adventures."

This time, he received a look from everyone, besides the Warriors who didn't know him well enough to understand the joke.

* * *

This time, Fandral and Hogun remained behind with the house. Ironically, Nick Fury had actually attempted to call them as they were on their way out. Tony had ignored it easily. He said it was because he didn't want Fury to secretly trace the call and ask questions about where they were heading, but they all knew it was partly to get back at Fury for not answering before.

The sun was well past set by the time they arrived in town. Parking a few miles away, it took them a bit to get closer. Hawkeye and Black Widow had originally debated about the two of them just using authorization to enter the place. After all, no one knew they knew the scepter was there. But they decided that would be too risky given that the scepter was also going to disappear that night.

The base was lit up like the night sky and surrounded by a very tall fence. Trucks drove in and out constantly. It was fairly active for being so late at night. It closely resembled the fort SHIELD had set up around Thor's hammer.

"Our best bet would be getting into one of those." Hawkeye said, tipping his bow towards one of the jeeps "But then we would have the problem of them recognizing us."

"No one would recognize Thor if he looks like a mortal." Captain America said.

"This isn't a damn movie where the guards conveniently don't know what their men look like." Hawkeye replied dryly as he watched another jeep drive by "SHIELD is a little bit too efficient for that."

"That, and do you know how to drive?" Tony asked, looking at Thor. Volstagg and Sif glanced at each other. The God of Thunder just scowled at him silently, but he didn't answer the question. Instead he looked over at Loki, who didn't look back, but he spoke instead.

"We don't need to use anyone of us." Loki said, peering over at the base with expressionless eyes "I only need to see a guard's face and I can replicate it."

They looked at him for a moment before Captain America gave a slow nod.

"Okay." he returned his gaze to the others "We'll need to intercept a truck before it gets too close. Then we can use that to get in."

"Sounds like one of those "too easy" plans." Black Widow said, standing up fully. The others did the same.

* * *

"Base, this is badge 2471, we've got a load of rifles coming in, please be advised we're heading your way." the man in the truck said, speaking into a radio. He waited a moment on the static.

"Copy that badge 2471, we do not have a visual, we will radio you when we do." on the receiving end was another man, although his voice was much deeper. The driver put down the radio and glanced at his companion.

"Damn, you look tired." he said "Try to stay awake for check in so they don't think I tried to drug you again."

"I'm just looking forward to the weekend." his friend replied, rubbing his eyes "Haven't seen my wife in a week. This job gets a little bit ridiculous."

"Just wait till Christmas comes around and you get that bonus." the driver said, glancing forward at the road. He looked back over to see his friend chuckle and roll his eyes.

The truck suddenly jerked as it hit something that felt like a speed bump. The man braked quickly, both hands gripping the steering wheel. He glanced at his partner sitting next to him, who suddenly seemed wide awake.

"If you hit a dog, I'll probably shoot you." he said.

The driver rolled his eyes "There wasn't a dog." he pulled the handle on his door in irritation, taking the radio just in case. He scooted out, getting the ground, before he leaned down to see if anything was underneath the truck. Then he squinted.

"What the-?"

Black Widow jabbed her hand taser into his side and after about two seconds he fell to the ground. The other man in the car sat up quickly as he saw his friend disappear from sight. He unbuckled his seat belt, opened his car door and stepped out. Immediately, Hawkeye, who was waiting on the opposite side, hit him across the neck and knocked him out cold.

Captain America and the others got up from their crouch positions and walked over. Captain America retrieved his shield from the ground underneath the vehicle swiftly.

"Alright, who's driving in as these guys?" he asked.

"I'll do it." Hawkeye said, adjusting his quiver slightly "I know how to stay above their suspicion."

The others glanced each other for a moment and silently the group seemed to come down to Captain America or Tony.

"I can be the other guy." Tony volunteered "Barton will need someone to play off of in case they don't believe it's their men."

Captain America gave him a look, catching the sly insult, but he didn't say anything in response. He instead looked over at Loki and then the others did the same.

The God of Mischief, with a stone hard expression, gave the smallest wave of his hand. There was a green shimmer and then Hawkeye and Tony appeared just like the men lying on the ground.

* * *

"Here they come." the officer near the entrance gate called over to the other men on duty.

"It's about time." one of them said, walking over "What took them so long?"

"I don't know; the two of them probably hit the booze tonight." he replied.

"Call that in, maybe it'll get them to shape up." the man reached his side and shrugged.

They watched out of the gate with expectant faces as the truck drove nearer. Once it got within 10 feet of the surrounding gate, the first officer held up a hand for them to halt.

Hawkeye, who was driving, complied and the man walked out to them.

"Rick, how are you?" he asked as he approached the window.

"Great." Hawkeye replied "Yourself?"

"Don't lie, it's 3:30 am." the officer responded dryly, writing something down on the pad. He leaned to see Tony's illusion, eyebrows raised "Right?"

"I keep telling him that, but apparently he's an optimist." Tony replied, having no knowledge of the previous conversation between the two men.

"You guys are carrying rifles, right?" the officer asked, looking back down at his pad.

"Yep and ammo." Hawkeye replied. He very nearly winced as he realized the second part might not be true.

Fortunately, the man just nodded "Alright, carry on through and get them unloaded."

As he stepped back, Hawkeye pressed on the gas and entered the SHIELD base. Fortunately, since they had been delayed by hijacking the truck, no other vehicles were behind them. He drove it across the outdoor compound, finally jerking up onto the metal platform.

"You'd better get working on those cameras, Stark." Captain America said from the back compartment of the truck.

"Really? I had no idea." Tony responded, glancing out the window "Jarvis is jamming their system now."

"Quietly, I hope." Hawkeye said "They pick up on those things pretty quickly."

"He got a tap into it. He'll put up a false recording every time we enter an area." Tony said as they came to a stop "They shouldn't know the difference."

Hawkeye pulled on the handle and opened the door. He walked around to the back and opened the doors to let the others out. Black Widow was the first on the ground. She handed Hawkeye his bow with a small smile.

"We're getting fired for this."

"Only if they find out." Hawkeye replied as the illusion slowly faded from his form. He grabbed his quiver and slung it over his shoulder. He looked at the group grimly.

"Remember, no killing." Captain America said, looking at Volstagg more than anyone else.

"So you said." the Warrior replied with a hint of irritation "Don't worry about repeating instructions to us, we know how to get jobs done."

Sif looked at Thor, almost as if she wished he would do something. He didn't though because he knew that the person Captain America was portraying wasn't the person he always was.

"Well, Loki." the soldier said, looking at the God of Mischief with serious eyes "Take us to the scepter


	19. Slow to Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!

Loki walked down the hall, his footsteps completely silent compared to everyone else. Even though he could find his way towards the scepter, he didn't have any experience navigating the walls of a SHIELD base. In which case, Hawkeye and Black Widow stayed near the front of the group.

Captain America kept a look out behind, but they hadn't come across any guards yet. As suspicious as this seemed, Hawkeye had said that it wasn't unusual to keep all of the defense outside and the rest of the crew inside. Generally, it was easy to spot an unfamiliar face, but then again, magic had never been factored into the equation. And, thanks to Jarvis, they were virtually walking around the place unseen.

"Are we close?" Thor said under his breath to Loki once they stopped for a minute.

The God of Mischief glanced at him quickly, seeming a bit peeved by the question.

"Closer." he replied "I suspect it will be well hidden. Below ground, I believe."

"They have a lot of rooms on the lower floors that would be good for keeping it contained." Hawkeye replied intently, as if a thought had just come to him. He stood up straight and walked quickly across the hall. He waved a hand for them to follow. When they were closer to him, he spoke.

"There's a stairwell a few doors down." he said, halfway in a whisper "Let's get down there-"

"Clint, someone's coming, back up." Black Widow said.

Hawkeye backed into the previous hallway, peeking out a little bit at the two men walking down the hallway. They were talking to each other, oblivious to the fact that there were intruders right around the corner.

As soon as they got close enough Black Widow stepped out, sending a flat palm into one of their chin's while Hawkeye simultaneously twisted around, striking the other one across the head with his bow. Neither of the blows would inflict lasting damage, but the two guards would be out for several hours at the least.

"Alright, go, go, go." Hawkeye said, urgently, gesturing at the others to move towards the staircase.

Out of any of them, Volstagg was the most likely to blow their cover. As the typical Asgardian, he wasn't used to sneaking around. But, nevertheless, they made it down the steps into another hallway. This one came to a dead end if you went down too far, but about halfway there was an opening. This led to a big room that sat underneath the fenced off area out of the building. The walls were thick, a very effective way to dissuade intruders trying to come in from below. There were only a few doors opposite from them in the room.

Hawkeye looked at Loki, obviously unsure where to go next. But the God of Mischief didn't notice right off because his eyes were closed. Then, after a moment, he opened them back up, eyes focused on a specific door across the room. He began walking towards it without saying anything to the others. But they followed him silently.

Once they reached the door, Captain America walked up to it. He pulled on the handle, but the door didn't budge.

"Well, we could wait here for a while and try to pick the lock, but I think we might have a better method." Tony said, stepping back "Thor, care to take a stab at it? Or rather, a whack at it."

"That might be slightly obvious." Captain America said, voice dry. But he didn't protest. Thor stepped up to the door and brought his hammer down onto the steel door. The metal bent inward significantly, breaking part of the frame. Volstagg and Captain America walked forward and grabbed the two sides of the damaged door. They pulled and it came unhinged quickly. The two of them set it down as quietly as possible before joining the others in gazing in at the dimly lit room. The scepter wasn't in there, but there were several computers and different machines all over the room. On one of the monitors there was a live feed of the scepter resting on a stand.

"I don't see a scepter in there." Captain America said, looking at Loki. The tone in his voice was a bit belligerent, but it also implied an honest question.

"Then perhaps we'd best take a closer look." Loki responded, voice flat.

Tony was the first to take a few steps into the dim room, eyes on the monitor. There was nothing on the video that would implicate where the scepter was at the moment. The background was dark and the only thing visible was the lines of light coming from the weapon.

"Well, if it was me, I wouldn't just have a random room set off to the side to watch the scepter sit there." Tony said, examining the consoles.

"You might if you were SHIELD." Hawkeye replied.

Even though they followed that line of thought, the others obviously weren't sure what to do at that point. They began doing the same thing as Tony until Thor pulled open a small pad on the wall farthest from the door. Tony watched him and then flicked a finger at it.

"Nice find." he stepped next to the God of Thunder and opened it the rest of the way.

Inside was a keypad with nine lit up numbers and below it was a finger scanner.

"Jarvis, would you mind cracking this for me?" Tony said, tapping the screen of the keypad.

"He's already doing most of the work." Black Widow said, her voice a little bit sarcastic.

"I'll put it on your Christmas list." Tony replied.

"Why is it that you never start off with wearing the suit?" Captain America asked, glancing behind them and then back at him.

"I get on without it." Tony replied watching the screen as numbers flashed across it "I rely on skill. And wits."

Captain America rolled his eyes slightly. A few seconds later, the door to a room slid open. It seemed just to be a portion of the wall that moved out of place.

Perhaps that was why there wasn't a light to the room they were in. Less chance that someone would notice the tiny crevices in the wall. Tony peered in, all amusement fading as he saw stared at the eery glow. The scepter rested on a stand, the blue light flowing within its orb.

Loki held out a hand towards the door, looking at Tony.

"After your wits." he said.

Tony glanced at him briefly and then he stepped slowly into the room. Captain America followed him. Thor stared at Loki intently, almost as if he wanted to say something. Loki looked back for a moment before averting his eyes towards the scepter.

Hawkeye went in and the others followed. Tony stopped in front of it, eyes reflecting the blue light. Slowly, he reached forward and lifted it up off the stand. The way he picked it up suggested that it was heavier than he expected. He seemed almost captivated by it. A heartbeat later, a loud alarm started blaring and red lights in the room started flashing. Captain America looked back at the door, as if suddenly afraid it was going to shut on them.

"Uhh...Jarvis what's going on? I thought we shut off all the alarms around here." Tony said.

"The alarm wasn't triggered here, sir." Jarvis' robotic voice replied "There appears to be a breach somewhere else in the building."

"Another breach?" Tony echoed "Who?"

"I do not have information on them in my database." Jarvis replied.

Captain America glanced swiftly at the others before blinking it away. Then, the alarm cut out. Everyone stared up at the ceiling again, confused.

"Alright, let's go. Stark, you got the scepter?" Captain America asked, staring at him intently, a question in his eyes.

"Yep." Tony replied. A moment after he said that, the ceiling above them shuddered and some dust shook off the computers in the other room. Everyone stood still as the rubble passed. The scepter seemed to glow brighter for a moment. Loki watched it, but as Captain America walked past him, he broke off his gaze, moving it to Thor instead.

* * *

Even more disturbing than the alarm was the fact that they didn't come across anyone on their way out. That would be standard protocol for a break in. The group was being a lot less careful this time around as well. The group walked up the stairs into the narrow hallway where the men they had knocked out should have been.

However, instead of the men, there was just a spray of dark red blood on the floor.

Hawkeye maneuvered around the others and hurried over to it. Captain America was right behind him. The SHIELD operative crouched down, staring at the blood in shock. Volstagg and Sif shared a glance, faces sober.

"We need to get outside." Captain America said "I have a feeling there's a reason we haven't seen any guards."

As they neared the doors, gun shots could be heard being fired. The sun was just starting to come over the horizon when they pushed open the doors into the fenced off area.

They couldn't see any fighting happening right then, but the shots could still be heard.

"It must be on the other side of the building." Captain America said, starting to jog over.

Loki's head suddenly snapped towards the dimly lit fence, eyes wide. Thor noticed this immediately.

"Wait-" he was cut off as a creature much bigger than him suddenly ran from the darkness and collided into him.

Black Widow pulled out her guns, firing at least five shots into it. It let out a strange growl before falling limp. Thor shoved it off him and got to his feet. He stared around them as a small circle of those weird beings began to surround their little group. They were very muscular and they had narrow faces, much like the Chitari. Their skin was a black and yellow, clad in thick armor. They ran on four feet although they could have easy run on two.

Loki stared at them warily, dagger already gleaming from his hand.

One of them charged at the group and Thor smacked it away quickly with his hammer.

"What are these?" he snapped. He asked the question generally, but he really only could have been talking to Loki.

The only communication back was a high pitched screech. Several of them began running towards Tony, targeting him specifically. They had no eyes to be seen and their teeth resembled that of a shark. Tony tapped something on his arm and his dark red suit crept quickly over his body.

"They're coming for this." he said, holding up the scepter before taking off into the air.

"Stark, get that thing away from here." Captain America said, hitting one of the creatures with his shield.

"Planned on it." Tony replied, hovering in the air above them "But I probably shouldn't leave you guys to die."

"We're fine, just take it." Captain America responded.

"You should know by now that I don't follow orders all that easily." Tony said. He pointed his arm at one of the aliens, firing several little bullets at them.

"Have you seen these things before?" Thor asked, looking at Loki as he stood impatiently waiting for another attack. The God of Mischief didn't acknowledge his question, although he most definitely heard it.

Hawkeye shot an arrow at a group of oncoming creatures and it exploded once it hit the ground, sending a lot of them flying. Whatever they were, they certainly didn't have the same strength as Asgardians when it came to being hit by explosives.

A long beam of light took out another group of them a ways away. Ironman lowered his arm slowly, peering at the damage for a moment.

The strangest thing of all was that Loki almost had to seek them out to fight. They were avoiding him whenever possible. He wasn't showing them the same courtesy.

For the time being, the Avengers was making progress, wiping them out faster than they could appear. Then, they changed tactics. The aliens were suddenly jumping into the air, several of them to Ironman's height. Because of this, they avoided being hit by anything else since Hawkeye, Thor, and Captain America couldn't send anything at their friend in the air.

"Tony, what are you doing?" Hawkeye demanded "Get out of here."

One of the Chitari-like beings reached and clung to Ironman's back, sending him dangerously off balance. Tony grunted as he struggled to regain power over himself.

"Stark!" Captain America called, watching with wide eyes. Hawkeye had an arrow aimed up at them, but he couldn't shoot without hitting Tony.

"Clint, watch out!" Black Widow said and he whirled around to stab the alien with the arrow he meant to shoot. She fired a few extra shots into it, making sure it crumpled to the ground.

The creature was still wrestling with Ironman, obviously trying to crawl out to the scepter. Tony had no idea how to use it so one of his arms was completely useless at this point.

Loki kicked away one them, one eye on the fight above now that a second one was beginning to drag Ironman down. Once Thor had cleared the area around him, he looked up as well and then quickly began to spin his hammer.

"Thor, be careful up there!" Captain America warned in between hitting. Either the God of Thunder didn't hear him, or he did and he ignored him. He shot up to Ironman, taking out on of the creatures instantly. However, with the force of the impact, Tony was knocked sideways, his helmet beeping insistently to tell him something was wrong. He let out a yell through his teeth, still trying to straighten himself out. The scepter fell to the ground with a small release of energy.

Every single on of the alien's heads turned to the object intently and then they all began running. From the way they converged together, it was obvious they were not thinking independently.

There was no way Captain America could get over to in time before the others did, but Loki was much closer. Without hesitating, the God of Mischief sprinted over to it. Captain America watched with wide, intense eyes, trying to hold back some of the creatures.

Loki rolled out of the way of monster, snatched it up, and fired a massive blue blast at the oncoming wave of them. The energy vibrated the air, making everyone stagger backwards. The shot obliterated the group of aliens immediately.

Ironman, having been released from his attacker when the scepter took its attention, landed with a run onto the ground.

Loki stared down at the weapon, eyes glowing blue from the light emanating from it. They were wider than they had been a moment ago. Then, almost instinctively, he released it and it to fell to the ground. Thor was at his side in a second, looking down at the dropped scepter. He stared at a few of the creatures who were indeed glaring back. As if by an unseen order, they all began running in one direction. Thor smacked them away once they got to close, but they weren't trying for the scepter like they had a moment ago.

"It looks like they're retreating." Volstagg called "Get the scepter and let's go!"

Thor grabbed it quickly and he and Loki began their way back towards the others. Then there was a sudden horrible scream of a woman that made the two of them stop cold. They looked at each other for a split second, eyes wide. Then, they both turned their gaze toward the retreating aliens. That was the voice of Frigga.

Her sons stared at the fleeing monsters intensely. They were all disappearing into an invisible portal, vanishing by the second.

"Thor!" Captain America yelled, but the God of Thunder was too captivated by the sound of the desperate scream. He started walking towards the portal, scepter in hand, eyes blank.

"Thor." Loki said, also having a hard time taking his eyes away. He stepped after his brother, pulling on his shoulder "Thor, don't listen to it."

But as he kept walking, Loki grabbed his face, yanking it towards him.

"Thor, it's not her!" he snarled "Do you hear me? She's dead, remember? It's-"

Thor shoved him away with his hammer, eyes glaring, a blow that could have killed a mortal.

"What's he doing?" Hawkeye exclaimed incredulously. Volstagg and Sif began running towards their friend, who was spinning his hammer to fly straight into the portal.

"Thor, no, wait!" Sif shouted at him as he took off.

The rest of them stared in horror as The God of Thunder shot after the fake screaming of Frigga. Any second, he would vanish as well, scepter and all. Tony took off after him with a sudden burst of power, arms and legs flexed hard, but he simply wasn't close enough.

Then, Loki, who should have been much farther behind and still recovering from the hit he'd taken, came in from the side and planted two feet into Thor. The force was enough to send him off course and the two of them tumbled roughly into the ground as the last of the creatures disappeared into thin air.

The team of Avengers hurried over to them, Volstagg and Sif in the lead. Loki was breathing hard, sweat glistening on his face as he regained strength. Obviously he had conjured up something to allow him to move quick enough to stop his older brother. It took its toll.

Thor looked at him, also taking in shallow breaths. The scepter lay in between them, its blue glow as potent as ever. Both of them were covered in dirt from the violent crash. Volstagg pulled Thor to his feet and then did the same to Loki without asking either of them permission.

"What the hell were those?" Tony asked, his suit retracted from his face.

"Why the hell didn't you leave?" Captain America bit back immediately, shooting him a look.

"Seemed a pity to leave the party." Tony snapped back.

Captain America shook his head in annoyance before glancing over at Thor. He was planning on saying something until he saw the distracted look in the God's eyes. Instead, he bent over and picked up the scepter.

"You guys take that and get it away from here." Hawkeye said, nodding at it "Natasha and I are going to go check the other side of the base."

"You don't know if there are more over there." Captain America said.

"Yeah, but we can deal with it better than any other SHIELD agents over there." Hawkeye replied, pulling an arrow back into his bow. Him and Natasha started walking away without any further argument.

"Your father will know about this shortly." Volstagg spoke to Thor. The God of Thunder looked up at him.

"Heimdall can't keep this a secret, surely you know that?" Volstagg said "Odin should know."

"This was a more deliberate attack." Thor replied slowly "But they didn't stay. We have no way of knowing if Thanos sent them here."

"I agree. But that doesn't mean he didn't." Volstagg replied.

Thor looked at Loki again. The God of Mischief had mostly recovered at this point, but he had his gaze on the ground, eyes narrowed.


	20. Unveiled Horrors

_Your father will have words with you._

Thor waited outside Hawkeye's house, arms folded across his chest. They'd brought the scepter back without any other events, but when they had arrived, one of the Asgardian soldiers approached Thor with a message from the Allfather. As they had suspected, Heimdall had reported the attack.

The soldiers were also standing guard over the scepter now. Originally they brought it into the house for safekeeping, but Loki had advised against it. They still weren't sure why and he hadn't given them a direct reason. He only told them it wasn't a good idea. As was expected, this brought up suspicion. Captain America pointed out that leaving it outside was only asking for trouble.

Tony mentioned maybe it was because The God of Mischief didn't trust himself around it, but Thor disagreed. If Loki were to try and escape with the scepter, he would do it deliberately, not because he was unsure with himself. No, Thor suspected Loki fully understood the dark power of the scepter and simply advised against it going into the house.

The God of Thunder actually wasn't all that upset that Odin was coming. Even though it was odd for him to travel to other realms as much as he was these days. He was planning on having the Allfather take the weapon off their hands or secure it through Asgardian barriers and only Odin could do that. Those would potentially allow only allies to access the scepter.

"Don't worry Thor, I doubt he'll banish you to Earth again." Hawkeye said from the porch "And if he does, it won't really be that different from how it is now."

Thor glanced back him with a small laugh, the first to pass his lips in a while. When they had returned to the house, most of them had been given a quick examination by Laura. As such, Hawkeye had a small dressing on a cut on his forehead that stood out against his skin.

"Why were you banished?" Tony asked, looking at Thor.

Loki, who was standing a few yards away from his older brother, looked over at them.

"He invaded Jotunheim without an order. And killed hundreds of frost giants there." he said plaintively, head tilted to the side and eyes narrowed.

Thor stared at the ground lips pressed together. Tony nodded in acknowledgement, eyebrows up.

"You came with me." Thor reminded Loki quietly.

"You know you would have gone alone anyway. Besides, I was the one who had a guard warn Odin of it." Loki replied "Funny how none of that is ever spoken of now.

"You've never been banished." Thor said.

Loki sniffed with a shake of his head. He looked at Thor with narrowed eyes "Not formally anyway."

Thor turned his head to respond, but Loki already turned away from him and walked closer to the house. The blue mark on his younger brother's neck was still very visible, although it was finally starting to heal over a bit. In all honesty, he wasn't sure how to interpret anything cold Loki said since his actions seemed to contradict it.

Volstagg glanced after the hidden frost giant as he walked past. Then he continued on his way to Thor.

"Are you hoping he'll take it to Asgard?" he asked. Thor shook his head.

"I highly doubt he will, but if he finds it to be the best option, I won't stop him."

"And are you sure they would be okay with that?" Volstagg asked, jerking his head towards the other Avengers.

"I don't think it will be a problem." Thor responded, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder "Thank you, Volstagg."

The warrior nodded affirmatively at him. They both looked over towards the field as the white light of the Bifrost suddenly shot through the sky.

Thor raised his chin and immediately started walking over as his father appeared.

Loki watched from closer to the house, book resting in his palms. He appeared mildly curious to hear the content of their conversation so he remained nearby.

"What did I ask you to do?" Odin inquired, leaning his head forward at his son. His tone wasn't sharp, but plain "I don't recall asking you to retrieve the scepter."

"Why does he think he gets to dictate what we do here?" Hawkeye asked, leaning against the railing to the porch. Fandral glanced over at him warily.

"Ordinarily I would leave decisions concerning Earth up to you. But where this concerns every realm and you sought out my help, I am now a part of it." Odin went on.

"That is why." Hogun responded in his gruff voice as he looked at Hawkeye.

"The scepter will be safer with us." Thor replied. Odin's jaw moved.

"By taking it, you are bringing more of a threat to the other realms." he said "Do you realize this? With it in the mortals hands, they would have seen Midgard as the only opposition. Now, you have sent the signal that Asgard and other realms are coming to their aid."

Now some sharpness was entering his voice.

"This was a very foolish move. While it is safer with you, it does not outweigh the risk."

"We have to be in possession of it." Thor maintained "If they cannot sense it here, perhaps they will assume it has been moved."

"And where do you suppose they will assume it has gone?" Odin demanded.

Loki regarded their conversation thoughtfully, not missing a word. Thor blinked at his father, understanding the problem.

"They will have no proof that it is on Asgard." he said "They will not attack there."

"But the chance has increased." Odin pointed out. He sighed "Thor, I understand your intentions. There was a time where I would have done the same. But as King of Asgard, and Allfather of the nine realms, I cannot give one of the realms, other than Asgard, priority. The fact that you were attacked while retrieving the scepter is worrisome. We have shown that we are prepared for war."

"But if we can prevent the power of the scepter from reaching them, perhaps the invasions will stop." Thor said forcefully "Otherwise we are just waiting for them to come to us. This is why we went to get it."

Odin didn't reply for a moment, obviously thinking it over.

"That is a risky gamble." he said finally "It may not do anything of the sort. If it does, I will concede to your wisdom. Until then, I think it would be best if you heeded my advice."

Thor dipped his head in response and Loki took his eyes off the pair of them.

"And, I want to make it clear that we are not bringing that to Asgard until it becomes necessary." Odin went on, nodding at the scepter.

"I thought we could secure it here with Asgard's power." Thor said, hammer shifting in his hand.

Odin nodded, as if he had figured as much. He began walking over to it and his son joined him.  
Loki didn't move as they got closer, but he kept his eyes pointedly away. Asgard's king glanced briefly in his direction, but then he did a double take, eyebrows furrowed. The blue mark on his adopted son's neck had apparently captured his attention. He stared at it as they went by until Loki looked his way. They held gazes for a moment, the hidden Jotun's more cold than the other.

* * *

The newly made transparent gold wall shimmered around the weapon, its appearance providing little justice for how strong it really was. Tony was over by it now, examining the weird barrier.

Odin and Thor had just finished speaking to the Warriors. Thor didn't try to bring Loki over as he understood that he wouldn't take anything as well if it came from Odin. There was nothing else for the king to do on Earth after they finished, but he had yet to announce his departure. However, it didn't take long for Thor to find out what was on his mind.

"What happened to him?" Odin asked, nodding in Loki's direction. Thor followed his gaze.

"What do you mean?"

"The mark. On his neck. When did that happen?"

Thor took a deep breath "When we went to find Red Skull. Loki said he had something that could burn frost giants. He refused going to a healer." he folded his arms slowly "I know it is not the first time it's happened."

Odin didn't reply for a moment "I am unsurprised he did not want a healer, but even if he had accepted it, I do not know if they could have done much. I have not come across something like that before. It seems fairly specific. I doubt many of those dark beings have come across frost giants besides Loki before."

"Meaning what?" Thor asked.

"Meaning they found it specifically for him at some point." Odin responded.

Most of the others in the group could easily overhear them, but neither of of the Asgardians seemed to care. Thor didn't have a response for that. However, he did have a question himself.

"Father, what is the covenant you made with Loki?" he asked "Please, I would really like to know."

"It has nothing to do with you so you don't need to worry about doing something wrong." Odin replied, evading his question. Thor let the silence continue, leaving his father to further fill it.

"I will give Loki closure for Frigga's death." he said finally. Thor's eyebrows went up, surprised he hadn't thought of his mother at all.

"I have granted him access to her chambers and her possessions for the next year. Her books will be of value to him. And comfort, I assume. He will be given a separate grieving ritual when he desires. A number of smaller things pertaining to her as well, but there is another part of it I may not be able to follow through on."

"What?" Thor asked, turning to his father in shock "He has your word. You gave him your word."

"I did." Odin responded.

Thor scowled "Even if he is a liar, he kept his end of the bargain. I would expect you to do the same. Always."

Odin very nearly chuckled as he looked at the ground.

"If I tell you what we agreed on you may change your mind."

"I doubt it." Thor replied "What is it?"

Odin turned and looked his eldest son straight on, eyes serious.

"As soon as his year is up, Loki asked me to have him killed."

Thor blinked, taken aback by his words. He almost felt out of breath for a moment, as if someone had just knocked the wind from him. That was not what he had been expecting at all. Fandral looked down at the ground instantly as if not wanting to meet anyone's gaze.

"So you can see why that part may be a bit harder to hold up to." Odin continued, looking away again "Your mother, for one, did not want that." he paused "Thor, you should be aware that whatever currently awaits Loki after this life, it will not be Valhalla."

Thor stayed quiet after those words. He couldn't even find words to respond. He had always really known that in the back of his mind, but never truly imagined what that would mean until now.

"And, I am not giving you that information lightly." Odin said, glancing at him "It was meant to remain private. I trust that you will not treat him any differently now that you know." he looked at the other Asgardian warriors "Any of you."


	21. Danger on the Front

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, college is getting to me! :)

It had taken a while for Hawkeye and Laura to impress upon the children that they needed to avoid the scepter. Originally they weren't going to say anything about it because telling the children not to touch it would only increase the chances. But Nathaniel had noticed it and immediately became curious. The barrier around it was rather unique from other Asgardian defenses. It allowed beings protecting the scepter to pass through, but would prevent any others. As such, Nathaniel and Cooper were not qualified to be enemies so they could access it at any point if not kept under close watch.

After Odin left, Loki and Thor had gone over to the scepter together. The God of Mischief spoke to the fact that the walls around it would help to suppress its eminating power. But he also added another layer of magical protection on it after Thor had pressed him. The eldest brother wasn't sure what magic Loki had done, but even he could sense a shift in the energy from the scepter afterwards. He knew how much trust all of them were placing in Loki. He hoped he wasn't making their situation worse. Thor was still slightly worried the that his trust was misplaced.

And even though their luck seemed to be on a losing streak, the theft of the scepter hadn't been broadcasted the world. Partly because the SHIELD base was rather under the radar and no news reporters were called in. When Hawkeye and Black Widow had gone to check on the other side, they'd found several dead guards. Fortunately, there weren't too many people at the base that night, but by what they saw, anyone else who had been there would have been dead as well. Even though SHIELD employed some of the best agents in the world, they couldn't be trained to fight enemies that appeared out of thin air.

They hadn't received any contact from Fury after the incident with Red Skull, but after the disappearance of the scepter, they were most definitely on their toes waiting.

"What are you guys going to do?" Laura asked, pulling up the covers on their bed and tucking them neatly. She looked up at Hawkeye, who was standing near their bathroom door, eyes distant as if he were focused on something else. He glanced at her, processing her question after a moment of thought.

"I'm not sure." he said with a sigh "Even with the scepter here, it's no guarantee that these attacks will stop happening. Thor's father up in Asgard wants us just to wait, but I don't really see how we can. Or they can, I should say, because it's not like we can do anything about it from here."

Laura looked back at him, eyebrows creased. Hawkeye had brought home a lot of concerning thoughts before so she could accept them fairly well now, despite what she felt.

"And, I'll be honest." Hawkeye continued "Having that thing around makes me paranoid." he walked over to the window and looked out at the shimmering walls around the scepter.

"And it should." Laura replied "There's a very good reason for that, Clint."

"The thing that makes me most nervous is to think that while I was under his control I could have said something about you and the kids." Hawkeye said without looking at her.

Laura paused, looking up at the ceiling while thinking.

"Well, if he had control of your mind, wouldn't he have already known?" she asked. At least, that is what she had always thought.

Hawkeye glanced over, eyebrows furrowed. His eyes flicked to the ground.

"I never thought about it that way. I suppose possible. Yeah, I'd say you're right." he let out a deep breath.

Laura smiled slightly even though she still had an underlying look of concern "Don't start worrying about it now. If anything was going to happen, it would have happened then."

"Maybe he just didn't get around to it." Hawkeye muttered.

"Somehow I sort of doubt it." Laura replied, rubbing his shoulder. Her husband shook his head slightly, eyes a bit uncomfortable as if he didn't want her having those unvigilant thoughts.

"The attack at the SHIELD compound only shows how unprepared Earth would be if a full scale battle happened. Hell, look at what happened to New York when we knew it was going to happen." he said, changing the subject.

"Clint, they couldn't have prepared for what happened yesterday and only a few people knew what was going to happen in New York. I'm not saying we could stop an attack over the whole planet, but I'm pretty sure we could give any aliens a run for their money."

Hawkeye shrugged and opened his mouth to agree with her when he noticed something outside the window. He leaned in to take a closer look and Laura joined him after a moment.  
A big black SUV with tinted windows was driving up the dirt road to the house, leaving a cloud of dust behind them.

"Is that Fury?" Laura asked.

"I hope so." Hawkeye replied, backing up from the window "But it could be one of the few others who are aware of this place." he started walking towards the door "We need to hide the scepter quick."

He hurried down the stairs and Laura followed him closely. Surprisingly, only Tony, Thor and Banner were inside. Black Widow and Captain America were approaching the car which had parked several yards away from the horse. Loki was on the porch, reading his book as per usual.

Hawkeye looked at the guys, baffled by their calmness. The scepter, usually visible from the window, was gone.

"Where is it?" he asked. His voice was closer to a sharp whisper.

"Out of sight for a moment." Tony replied casually. He held out an arm to usher Hawkeye to the front door "It's not Fury so you should probably be first one to greet them. Make it seem less suspicious."

"How do you know it's not Fury?" Hawkeye asked.

"I like to stalk people." Tony replied "Or, Jarvis does."

"I'm not sure it should be called stalking, sir." the robotic voice replied from one of the electronic devices in the room.

Hawkeye walked out of the house and down the steps to where a lone man was getting out of the car. He was one of the directors of SHIELD, a member of the World Security Council, and one of the very few people who knew about Hawkeye's family.

Captain America stopped and waited for the man to approach them. He was tall, broad shouldered, with completely white hair.

"Councilman Malick." Black Widow said, with a small nod and smile. She turned to walk with him as he continued to the house.

"Agent Romanoff." he returned the greeting evenly "There seems to be quite the gathering here."

"Yeah, well, we like to catch up with each other once in a while." Black Widow responded smoothly.

####

"Director Fury is otherwise occupied right now, so I thought I would come out here myself." Malick said, looking at the group of Avengers "We seem to have a little bit of a problem here and I'm going to ask right off. What the hell is going on?"

"Going on?" Tony asked "You'll have to elaborate sir, I'm afraid my partners can be a bit slow." he set his phone down "And actually, before any of us answers that question, who are you? I mean obviously Agent Barton and Romanoff know you, but the rest of us seem to be at a disadvantage."

Captain America raised his eyebrows expectedly. Thor and the other warriors stood together closest to the kitchen, arms all folded in the same fashion. Loki hadn't come inside, but no one was particularly concerned with him. Malick didn't seem to have recognized him and obviously Fury hadn't passed on the information.

"I am Gideon Malick, Mr. Stark." the man replied "I work with SHIELD and on the World Security Council to keep people like you in check."

"Oh good, then you know all about us and how we saved the world." Tony said plaintively.

"You know, I've only heard of you, Stark, but right now you are living right up to your reputation." Malick said, without cracking any smile.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Tony said "Workplace hazard."

"All of you should know I was never on board with the whole Avengers Initiative." Malick said "Fury decided to run it by himself. It was never authorized. We let him get away with it because the Avengers seemed to have done us a favor in New York."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Tony replied.

"However, I'm not so sure that this is what I call a favor right now." the man went on, clicking a button on his flat screened phone. A voice recorder immediately started playing.

"And the Avengers appeared to have been the ones behind this heinous attack on downtown New York City. This isn't far from the Avengers tower they are famous for defending about a year ago." the clip cut and switched to another reporter "They appear to be fighting a man that is a suspect in the earlier terrorist attack that day. Unfortunately, that man has not been seen since their fight with the Avengers so it's unclear whether or not the Avengers are actually the ones to blame for the first attack-"

Malick stopped the recording and tucked the phone into his jacket pocket.

"That doesn't seem like the reason Fury wanted the Avengers Initiative." he said.

"You think we'd be involved with a terrorist attack?" Black Widow asked, contemplative eyes on the ground.

"You tell me Agent Romanoff." Malick replied, looking at her "It might be best if you tell me what it's all about."

"The terrorist had another bomb he was going to set off." Hawkeye said "We had to stop him before he got to where he was heading."

"Last I checked, the Avengers aren't called in for terrorist attacks." Malick replied "We have other people for that."

"This terrorist was a bit above their pay grade." Tony replied.

"Alright. And say you're not behind this." Malick said "The staff. The one we recovered from New York City after the Chitari attack."

"Scepter." Tony said under his breath.

"I think we know what it is." Hawkeye said aloud, looking at the SHIELD director with a tilted head.

"It's missing." Malick said "Would you happen to know anything about that?"

"Missing?" Hawkeye asked "As in stolen?"

"The compound was attacked." Malick said "And funnily enough none of the cameras seem to have any record of it."

"So you're telling me the scepter that almost cost me and my friends their lives is in the hands of someone other than SHIELD?" Tony asked "Again?"

"I think you already knew that." Malick responded "And your feigned innocence is coming off a bit too strong."

"I've never feigned too much in my life." Tony said.

"We didn't have anything to do with that." Captain America said.

"Then why are you all here?" Malick asked finally.

There should have been silence, but Tony wasn't going to provide it.

"Well one can celebrate with his friends after saving a city, can't he?"

"How did you catch wind of this so called terrorist?" Malick asked, practically ignoring the answer to his question.

"It's called a television." Tony said, waving his hand at his board.

The Councilman narrowed his eyes briefly.

"I don't believe that."

"Well, it is." Tony said, gesturing at it again.

Malick stared silently at all of them for a few moments.

"It might best if all of you stick to your job, if that's what you can call it, and leave the other things up to us. We're sending out teams to find the scepter. If they find it here-"

"Last time I checked, this place didn't exist." Hawkeye replied.

"Well, that can be overturned if you were suddenly deemed a criminal." Malick replied "I suggest you all keep in line or this place and it's occupants might be otherwise compromised."  
He turned around and walked towards the door. Loki watched him from the porch as he headed towards his black car.

Hawkeye and the others all slowly came out onto the porch, faces sober as they also peered after him.

Loki took a few steps forward until he was standing beside Hawkeye, regarding the councilman with contemplative eyes.

"Are you going to let him get away with that?" he asked.

"What?" Hawkeye asked, glancing at him.

"Threatening them." Loki replied, keeping his eyes ahead.

Hawkeye let out a bitter guffaw "There's not much I can do about it."

"Cannot, should not, or will not?" Loki asked, giving him a dubious look.

Hawkeye opened his mouth and then paused for a second.

"All of the above." he replied.

"Hm." Loki looked back at the field as the car began to drive off. He placed a piece of paper neatly back into his book, closed it, and set it on the railing "Well I can."

Hawkeye blinked in surprise as the God of Mischief walked down the steps from the porch.

"Loki." Thor pushed past Banner to follow him.

"You don't mind if I overstep my bounds for a moment do you?" Loki asked, looking at him with a small challenge in his eyes. He began walking again. Thor went after him, eyes wide.

"If you kill anyone, father will-"

"Nothing so morbid." Loki interjected, watching the car driving away intently. It started down the lightly paved dirt trail, the dust clouding around it until it was no longer visible.

Loki slowly began running, gradually picking up speed. Thor watched, hand gripping his hammer tightly. Loki began to actually gain on the car. He took longer and longer strides until he leaped into the air. If he were a mortal, he would have landed maybe a few feet away, but instead he landed on the top of the moving SUV like a cat. He was crouched down, keeping his balance perfectly, despite the moving car.

Hawkeye was just staring at the scene, not making a comment.

"Well. And to think we believed we could ever keep him contained." Tony said. Captain America scowled and walked down the steps.

Loki held out a hand and then pulled it towards his body. The SUV slowly came to a stop and then began to drive in reverse.

Malick, inside, had both hands gripping the steering wheel, foot pressing down hard repeatedly on the gas pedal, eyes intensely confused.

Loki manipulated the car to go to the left and it swerved, coming a bit close to the side of the hill when it skidded to a halt. Then it was going forward again, wheels digging into the dirt to propel itself forward. Loki turned it right sharply so the back tires skidded around in a circle.

Hawkeye let a small smile appear and Tony looked over at him, face amused. Thor's face didn't share their humor, but he was also watching it happen without interference.

The SUV's engine revved as it began to rotate in a circle, sending dirt flying around it. It came to a jerky stop and then drove forward quickly. Through it all, Loki was on the top, leaning one way or the other as he moved the car. Then with a final hard stop, he let the car go and jumped off. It continued forward until it hit the rock cliff. Thor's mouth opened nervously, but the impact was only enough to dent the front of the airbag wouldn't have even gone off.

Loki walked back towards the house, obviously in no hurry, but his head was up just a bit higher than before.

Once the car was stopped for several moments, Malick opened his door and got out, his forehead a sweaty mess. He looked back towards the house. Loki held up a hand and he faded from view for moment.

The incident had happened far enough away that the Councilman couldn't see the people around the house clearly enough. He looked back at the SUV for a moment before turning to the vehicle. He walked around to the front to survey the damage and then he crouched down to look under it.

"There'll be hell to pay for that." Captain America said.

"Not if he didn't see him." Hawkeye replied.

After a bit of inspecting the car, Malick slowly got back in. Under normal circumstances, if he hadn't just threatened the people he visited, he would have gone back. But right now, he restarted the car and continued driving away, increasing his speed just a tad.

Loki reappeared a few yards away, walking towards Thor. His older brother stared at him, face disapproving. The God of Mischief looked back around to watch the SUV leave just as he reached Thor, face subtly amused.

"You can't do stuff like that." Thor growled.

"Really?" Loki asked, his voice suggesting he was prepared for a lecture he wouldn't listen to.

"You could get in serious trouble for that." Thor went in sharply.

"Well, I'm not planning on telling Odin, are you?" Loki asked, glancing at him.

"I wouldn't be too sure." Thor replied in annoyance.

Loki glanced down at the ground with a quick smile "That's alright. I was never the tattletale brother anyway."

Thor opened his mouth in offense as Loki, still staring after the SUV, suppressed a small laugh and turned around to walk to the house. He waved a hand and then the scepter slowly came back into view.

"They're vehicles have cameras." Captain America said.

"I think if you ask them, they'll find that I was never there." Loki said as he passed him.

Tony's eyebrows went up and he took a few steps over to Hawkeye.

"Looks like you've made a friend." he said, leaning over to him.

Hawkeye shook his head and glanced back at the house "I don't think it's me." then he took a deep breath and shook his head. He gestured at the scepter "They suspect it was us."

"But they don't have any proof." Captain America replied "Don't give it up too soon."

"He just came to see if he could scare it out of us." Black Widow said "And maybe warn us to be careful."

"He straight up threatened us." Tony replied "SHIELD is starting to get a little bit controlling."

"They don't want us doing anything stupid." Black Widow said "Which I think we already have. He came on hard to see how much we knew."

"Yeah." Hawkeye said, scratching his head "I mean, what we're doing is good and all, but I don't really think we want to start a war with the World Security Council."

Thor let out a deep breath, eyes in a rather conflicted scowl. As far as his brother, the event was encouraging, but he knew from experience that Loki was very good at hiding what he really felt. However, like Hawkeye said, the last thing they needed was the rest of Midgard turning against them.


End file.
